Return
by Angel Taisha
Summary: COMPLETE: RikkuXGippal AU: Sometimes things aren't always what they seem. Formerly Your Family Needs You rewritten. Also featured Yuna/Baralai,Nooj/Paine.
1. Chapter 1

_So I had this AU story called "Your family needs you". It was my first FFX-2 fanfic, and you can certainly tell it was my first because it well...kinda sucked. I've decided to give it a total overhaul in hopes that it'll be better the second time around and so far this is what I've got. There will be OOC-ness, just so you know. As usual, I own nothing save for my original characters. I hope you enjoy this!  
_

**Chapter 1:**

"They said she was going to be in room 112" Yuna said casually to Paine while looking at the number tags screwed into the wall by each door of the maternity wing as they walked down the corridor. Both had come to visit with Rikku who had given birth to hers and Gippal's first child early that morning. Yuna held in her hands a stuffed teddy bear and Paine brought half a dozen congratulatory balloons, each a different color with various sayings on them.

They also carried along the promise that they wouldn't talk about Gippal not being there while in front of the new mother. Having the baby without him was hard enough; they didn't want to make things any worse for her, at least until she was ready to talk about it.

"Remember what we said outside Paine" Yuna reiterated to the warrior as they stood in front of the door to Rikku's room, pointing at her with the teddy bear's hand in place of her finger. "No mention of Gippal, got it?"

Paine rolled her eyes, annoyed that Yuna would even think she would do such a thing. "Who do you think you're talking to Yuna? _Rikku_? " Yuna nodded and giggled, realizing the words she said and to whom.

"I'm sorry" she laughed, adjusting her grip on the stuffed animal she was holding. "Of course I don't think that way about you _or_ my cousin." She glanced through the small square window on the door and saw Rikku lying on her side in her bed facing the window, overlooking the scenery. The clouds were big and puffy in Djose that afternoon, and the sun beamed rainbow prisms through the pained glass and on to a potted plant sitting on the window sill, possibly a gift from another visitor earlier. "Oh, just look at her." Yuna whispered sadly, trying not to make them selves known just yet. "She looks so down, and where's the baby?" Not wanting to be hovering in the hall any longer the two looked at each other, gulped and opened the door.

**------------------------------------**

Rikku was staring out into the fields outside, not really focused on anything in particular when she heard the door to her room click open. In the back of her mind she was hoping to see _him_ standing there with a smile to die for on his face, but she knew deep down it was anyone but. Sighing heavily she turned her gaze back to the window ignoring the girls at first, but only to get her bearings. It was the first time since the baby was born that she was seeing them, and she wanted to be more than just a 'sad sack'; a nickname she had given to herself to describe the way she'd been feeling since her husband disappeared the month before.

Putting on a fake, but hopefully somewhat believable smile, Rikku sat upright in her bed and greeted her visitors. "Hiya guys!" she said in a voice that was a mixture of tired and happy as she smoothed out the blankets on her lap with her hands. "It's good to see you both. How are ya doing?" Yuna kissed Rikku first, followed by Paine, and they each took a spot on a side of her bed; Paine on the left, Yuna to the right.

"Forget about us Rikku" Yuna scoffed, placing her free hand onto the bed railing. "We want to know how _you_ are! Oh and look!" She exclaimed, holding up the pink teddy bear. "See what I brought for the baby? Isn't it cute? I saw it at the stationary store in Luca on our way here. By the way, where is the little one anyway? Her name is…" Yuna put a finger to her mouth as she thought. "Lelah, right?" For some reason, seeing the stuffed animal and being asked about the baby suddenly made Rikku upset, and she tried her best to hide it.

"Yeah." Rikku replied. "She's named after Gi…" She stopped, not wanting to say Gippal's name and held up the pink bear to change the subject. "_his _mother. This is so adorable Yunie, thanks so much." Rikku hoped she didn't sound unappreciative as she struggled to fight the tears that welled in her eyes. She quickly looked away, but no matter what side Rikku turned either Paine or Yuna was facing her. "I promised myself I wouldn't do this anymore." Embarrassed, Rikku tried in vain to knuckle away the streams that began soaking her cheeks but the tears would not stop. "She's still in the nursery." She paused a moment, blowing her nose. "You know what the sad part is?" The two listened intently through her soft sobs. "I don't even want to look at her. She looks too much like…Gippal. I've only been a mother for six hours and already I suck." Rikku finally buried her face into the teddy bear and cried while the two did their best to comfort their friend and cousin.

"They'll find him, Rikku." Paine said hopefully, stroking Rikku's hair with her hand. It was the worst feeling in the world for Paine to see someone that was usually so overly happy all the time virtually inconsolable. She didn't want to fill Rikku's mind with hopeless thoughts, but there wasn't anything else she could say to make her friend feel any better. "Nooj has the best scouts out there combing the deserts with Nhadala every day. Something will come up soon." Nooj put together a special team not only for his and his wife's former comrade, but because Gippal was also their four year old son Juin's guardian in the event something would happen to them.

"And Baralai has guards searching around the clock as well." Yuna added, speaking about her own husband of three years. It took about three of the six years since Vegnagun's defeat to convince Yuna that Tidus was not coming back, and even though he had some trouble initially, Baralai finally won her over, marrying her in one of the most talked about weddings had on the shores of Besaid. When Yuna found out Rikku was pregnant she could not have been more thrilled. She and Baralai also had a two year old son of their own named Adlain.

Rikku composed herself, drying her eyes with the last of the tissues in the box. "I guess that means there isn't any new news, huh?" The girls shook their heads, but Rikku smiled. "I know they're doing all they can. I really appreciate it."

"Well they miss Gippal as much as we do." Yuna grabbed a comb off of the tray table and began to brush Rikku's long blonde hair gently. "Baralai tries to hide how he's feeling from me, but he doesn't know I can hear him praying for Gippal when he thinks I'm asleep." She separated Rikku's hair into two parts and put them over each shoulder. "There you go! no knots!" She announced, smiling her best for her cousin. Suddenly the door to the room opened and in walked Nooj, Baralai, their boys in tow and a nurse cradling a pink bundle.

"Look who I ran into, Mrs. Arakaki!" The nurse chimed, bringing her baby over to her. "These gentlemen" She motioned to Baralai and Nooj "Were admiring little Lelah in the nursery and said they were on their way up here so I thought I'd bring her up for you!" The woman handed Lelah to Rikku, but she was reluctant to hold her daughter, telling the nurse to let Yuna hold her instead.

"Why don't you take her first, Yuna?" She suggested, swiftly putting the infant into her cousin's arms. Lelah fussed a little during the exchange, but it wasn't anything a silly face from Yuna couldn't fix. Rikku was relieved her baby didn't get upset being in someone else's arms since she wasn't ready to hold her just yet.

Adlain ran over to his mother, grabbing at the bottom of her skirt in hopes to get a better look at the person she was holding. Yuna walked over to the recliner in the corner of the room to sit so her son could see. "You wanna say hi to Lelah, 'Lain?" She addressed him by his nickname, tousling his short auburn hair with her fingers. He nodded, blinking his brown and blue eyes innocently and Yuna sat him on her lap next to the baby. "Go ahead. Say hello to your new little cousin."

"Hi baby!" Adlain greeted in a high pitched voice, kissing her on the head and then putting two of his fingers into his mouth; his trigger for shyness. Yuna in turn kissed the top of his head and smiled at Baralai from across the room. Juin went over to his own mother and Paine scooped him up in her arms, resting him on her shoulder.

"Hey there, Juin!" Rikku squealed, reaching for his hand. "How's my big boy doing? High five!" She rose up her palm and Juin slapped it quickly before giggling into Paine's neck. "It's so nice of you to come see your Aunt Rikku! Have you been good?" Juin's face remained buried, a little shy himself but he had a sharp red eye focused on Rikku.

"Well Juin," Nooj asked, coming up behind his wife and son. "_Have _you been good?" With his metal finger he nudged the boy's chin out from the safe haven of Paine's neck and grinned. "I guess you haven't been good, have you then?"

"No daddy I have!" Juin spoke at last, making everyone in the room laugh. "I really have!"

**--------------------------------**

Rikku enjoyed having everyone there; it was comforting and a pleasant distraction from her thoughts that seemed heavily focused on the one person that was not there to celebrate this moment with her. She could remember the day Gippal found out he had to leave on that dig like it had happened only yesterday.

_**-One month prior-**_

"_Oh my goodness Gippal it kicked!" a very pregnant Rikku exclaimed with a hand to her eight and a half month stomach. Her husband was washing some dishes in the sink; one of the chores he'd decided to take over to give her a break while she was expecting. "Put those cups down and come over here to feel!" _

_Setting a newly cleaned glass down onto the counter, Gippal walked over to the table where she was sitting and knelt down beside her. He settled his hand on her belly, grinning when he felt a movement from within. "It's gonna be a fighter with a kick like that!" He declared proudly, leaning into Rikku for a kiss. "We're gonna have a toughie on our hands; an Arakaki to be proud of!"_

_Rikku put her hand on top of Gippal's and raised a questionable brow. "First of all, we're gonna be proud of it whatever __**it**__turns out to be, and who says it's gonna be a boy anyway? What if it's a girl?" She watched as he thought for a moment, a hand rose to his chin in contemplation. _

"_Well, if she turns out to be a girl, I just hope she's not gonna be as whiny as you!" Gippal went back over to the sink and Rikku laughed, grabbing the dish towel he left on the table, crumpling it up and throwing it at his head. He leant down to pick it up and when he rose his demeanor turned serious. "She'll be beautiful like you…" Gippal looked away, his face still solemn. Rikku worried about his sudden change in character and stood up beside him._

"_What is it, Gippal? What's wrong?" With her hand she pulled his face toward her and spotted a tear trickle down his cheek. "What gives?"_

_Gippal shrugged her hand off of his face and turned to face the sink. "…If it __**is**__ a girl, could we name her after my mother?" He asked, and with his hands leaning on the edge of the basin he looked out of the kitchen window. His mother passed away when he was just a teen; they were very close until she was stricken with a rare illness that eventually took her life. Gippal promised himself if he ever had a little girl of his own that he would like to name her after her. He never mentioned anything to Rikku about it up until that point, and he hoped she wouldn't mind._

_Rikku's lips curled into a smile and she wrapped her arms around him, hugging Gippal from behind. "That's the best idea ever. Your mother would be so honored." _

_The two shared a tender embrace when the comm. Sphere rang in the living room had begun to ring. Gippal spun around and gave his wife a quick peck on the forehead before going in the other room to answer the call, and Rikku turned the faucet back on deciding to wash the last dish in the sink. The clock on the far wall struck eight and she wondered who was calling so late. Gippal came back into the kitchen looking serious again; Rikku unfortunately knew why this time._

"_You have to go out on a dig, don't you?"_

"_Yeah." Gippal sat down on one of the wooden kitchen chairs. "They've discovered some new route in Bikanel, possibly a place we haven't dug at yet. We leave tomorrow." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry Cid's girl. I can't say…"_

"_You can't say no to them, but you can say no to me who is gonna be giving birth any week now!" She placed her hands on her belly with worry in her eyes. Rikku was so angry and hurt that he didn't say no to the dig, because digs could take anywhere between days, weeks, and sometimes months depending on the situation and that was time Rikku just didn't have. "I want you here when the baby's born, Gippal!" She demanded and started to cry, grabbing the dishcloth off of the counter and covering her face. "I need you."_

_Gippal felt horrible; he approached Rikku and gently moved her hands downward, revealing her tear stained face. "Rikku I'll be back before you know it. Please don't worry." Not knowing what else to do he just pulled her into his chest and held her tight as she continued to cry, rocking them both from side to side. "You're not gonna be alone when the baby comes, I promise."_

"_Don't make me promises you can't keep, Gippal." Rikku warned, clutching him tighter as he continued to rock her. "You better be there."_

"_I will."_

_She whispered her next words so softly Gippal didn't hear them. _

"_Please…you __**have **__to be there."_

_Unfortunately, three days into the dig there was a massive sandstorm which knocked Gippal's excavation hover off of the radar, and despite recovery efforts they were unable to find him and his three man crew. Shortly after Rikku received the devastating news that he was missing she went into labor, giving birth without him unable to keep his promise. _

**~End flashback~**

"I guess we should get going." Nooj announced after about an hour, picking a sleeping Juin off of Paine's lap so she could stand up. "I think someone needs a nap." The boy scratched his nose and blinked his eyes for a second before resting his head on his father's shoulder, falling back to sleep. Yuna held Adlain, her fingers interlocked by his bottom as his head rested against her chest. Baralai was holding Lelah, and he approached Rikku's bed ready to hand her over but she was still apprehensive, waving her hands and shaking her head no.

"Baralai I don't know if I can." Rikku said sadly, her voice about to break again. "What if she doesn't want me? What if I can't console her?"

Baralai offered Rikku a sympathetic smile and sat down beside her on the bed. "Don't worry about such nonsense. She needs her mother, and if she doesn't have you, she won't have anybody." Slowly the praetor transferred Lelah from his own arms to Rikku's, and she hiccupped, startling her mother at first. Rikku became nervous when the baby began to fuss, but all doubts disappeared instantly when they're eyes finally met. When he knew that mother and baby were situated Baralai kissed Rikku on the forehead and smiled, rising to his feet. "Everything will be all right. We're all here if you need us, you know that." With a final caress to Lelah's tiny head Baralai said his goodbyes and left the room, meeting up with his own family in the hallway.

When Rikku looked closer into her little girl's eyes, she noticed they were definitely Al-Bhed, but they were blue green spirals instead of just the solid green she had; a combination of hers and Gippal's. Seeing those eyes filled her heart with the tiniest bit of hope that Gippal just might return to them safely, and she realized that it wasn't going to do either her or her new baby any good to sulk.

"Hello there, Lelah" Rikku said softly, touching her little nose softly with her index finger. "I'm your mama. Your daddy isn't here right now, but he'll be with us soon, kay?" She paused to once again knuckle away tears, but Lelah smiled at her, giving Rikku instant inner strength. "You and I are gonna be a ok until he comes home, I promise."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Yuna shifted uneasily in the passenger seat of the hover, settled her elbow onto the door's arm rest and sighed as Baralai drove them down the highroad back to their home in Besaid. Adlain was fast asleep in his car seat, soothed by the gentle humming of the engine and light jazz emitting from the stereo speakers. Baralai could tell his wife had something on her mind; it was one of the many endearing quirks she possessed that he loved about her since they got together. Whenever she wanted to talk to him about a problem or had to ask him a question she would either pace around the room he was in, absentmindedly dusting the furniture or straightening up until he asked her what she wanted.

This time, however, since they were in the hover she just moved around in her seat, crossing and un crossing her legs, playing with the ashtray or drumming her fingers on the dashboard sighing every two minutes. Baralai knew what she was thinking; he usually did, but it was like picking crabmeat out of a shell with too large a fork to get her to say anything. He never understood why Yuna had such a hard time saying what she felt with him. She once told him in passing it was because he was the praetor and he faced people everyday that wanted something from him, be it a pardon, an endorsement, or just about anything and she did not want to seem like a bother when he came home even though he never thought her to be so. Deciding after the twentieth sigh because he mentally counted, Baralai finally confronted her.

"You wish Rikku and the baby could stay with us when she gets out of the clinic, don't you?" He placed his hand over Yuna's, stroking the top of it with his thumb in slow, soft circles.

"I just don't want her to be alone in that house." She reasoned, putting her other hand on top of Baralai's, clenching it tight as she spoke of Rikku's and Gippal's mansion in Djose. "What if she needs to do something and can't because she has no one to watch Lelah? No one lives near her..." Yuna nibbled on the bottom of her lip, another endearing quirk and indication to Baralai that she had much more on her mind than just her cousin but was not comfortable saying. This time though, instead of tap dancing around the issue she came right out and said it, surprising Baralai.

"I feel bad lying to Rikku."

Baralai took his hand from Yuna and downshifted, passing a chocobo rider heading in the same direction as they were. "What did you lie to her about?" He gave her back his hand and crossed the hover into Luca, heading for the ferries. The last one was loading passengers, almost ready to set sail by the time they boarded.

Yuna pouted, looking out onto the water watching the waves crash against the dock. "She was so upset about Gippal not being there she said she was a bad mother, so Paine and I told her we still had people searching for him."

"We would _still_ be searching for him if we were granted access to the area in Bikanel where he was lost." Baralai turned the hover off and the ferry's engine started, beginning its final trip to Besaid for the day. Other passengers exited their hovers, walking past Yuna's window to lean on the railings as the two remained inside theirs talking. "We've requested permission several times from Slovak who is temporarily in charge of the faction until Rikku returns but he will not let any of our teams through." He tapped the steering wheel with his free hand as he watched the seagulls fly alongside the ferry in groups, waiting for someone to throw anything edible into the ocean. "He says it is too dangerous and they don't want to risk anyone else getting lost, especially anyone from the triad."

The triad was a system of branches that the men created after Vegnagun's defeat. They were still the Youth League, New Yevon, and the Faction but they worked together as a team instead of individually, never doing one thing without consulting the other two sections beforehand. Holidays and occasions for one section were celebrated by all three so all could appreciate different views and customs. It was all about understanding to erase the blind hatred of ignorance among people. After six years it had proved to be a valuable system; the crimes against different races reduced by half, and people learned to be tolerant of each other due to the efforts of Nooj, Baralai and Gippal who traveled to different parts of Spira, talking about the benefits of working together as a whole.

"I just don't like sitting by idly doing nothing" Yuna sighed, rolling down her window to get some air. Ferry rides often made her feel a little queasy while sitting in the hover as opposed to actually standing on the boat, but because Adlain was with them she dealt with it to the best of her ability. "Gippal's out there somewhere, and he's missing out on his new family…missing out on all of the first moments." She leaned over the center console and turned to the back seat, watching Adlain snore contentedly in his chair with his favorite blue blanket clutched between his fingers tightly. "I don't know what _I_ would do if you weren't there for us. I can't imagine what it must be like for Rikku." Yuna returned to her seat, tilting her head up against the headrest and stared up at the hover's ceiling. Baralai knew it was hard for her to not try to think of ways to make things better but there wasn't anything he could do; it was her nature to be that way.

"I feel the same as you, Yuna." He gripped Yuna's hand firmly as if she was going to just vanish from her spot. "I keep trying to imagine how Gippal must feel being separated from her. I don't think there is enough strength in any man to have to face such a hardship." Baralai paused and brought her hand to his lips, kissing it softly. "I know _I_ don't have enough."

"I hope he doesn't think we've given up on him." Thinking of Gippal out there alone in the desert made Yuna feel so guilty and helpless. "What kind of friends are we to just hope he's all right? Why aren't we doing more?" The blare of the ferry's horn signaled their arrival in Besaid and Baralai started the hover back up, waiting in line to get off.

"We cannot do that to ourselves hon. We're doing the best we can, and it's not in Gippal's best interest to be wallowing in 'why's'." Baralai shifted into drive and made their way down to a private corner of the beach where their house was built, safely nestled within the trees. "If you think Rikku would want to stay with us then give her a call. You know I don't mind if it makes you feel better." He pulled into their driveway and removed the key from the ignition. Yuna stepped out of the hover and opened the back door to retrieve Adlain. He was a heavy sleeper; the little guy didn't even feel his mother take him out of his car seat. He just coughed a bit before putting his head back onto Yuna's shoulder without a care in the world.

"I just might do that Baralai, thank you." His words made her feel better and she smiled, carrying Adlain up the walkway to the front door. Grabbing his son's diaper bag from the back seat Baralai locked the hover doors and followed Yuna up the pebbled steps.

"You don't have to thank me." He unlocked the front door and pushed it open for her since her hands were full. "I am always glad to do whatever you want me to. You just have to ask."

"But I _do_ ask!" Yuna said surprised, walking into the dining room. Baralai shut the door and turned on the light along with the ceiling fan. He'd decided he didn't want to argue with her on that note.

"Whatever you say, Yuna."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

She couldn't sleep. No matter what way she positioned herself Rikku could not get comfortable; her legs swung over the blankets, under them, one leg in and one out, until finally she wanted no blankets at all, kicking them impatiently to the floor. Rikku's skin felt hot to the touch, but the room temperature was cold like most hospitals are to keep the risk of viruses low. She lie in the dark; the only light was born from the full moon shining through the blinds, casting shadows of the flowers and trees outside onto the pale white walls of her quarters.

All night long her thoughts would not cease, and Rikku felt like she was running in circles to a horizon that seemed only a touch away but farther the closer she advanced to it. She drifted in and out of consciousness, not sure if the nurses coming in to check up on her hourly were real or illusions. When she had heard the door open a final time, Rikku grew irritated by the interruption and turned around to give the nurse a piece of her mind but was shocked to see Gippal standing in the doorway with flowers in his hand and a grin on his face.

"You weren't gonna give me a piece of your mind, now were you Cid's girl?" Rikku continued to stare blankly at him as he made his way over to the chair beside her bed, not believing her eyes. "Cuz if I were you I'd keep what little's left inside that pretty noggin of yours." Gippal replaced the dead flowers in a vase on the window sill with the ones he was holding before finally sitting down. "Do you like them? I picked them from the Highroad just for you." Noticing he wasn't getting a response from his wife, Gippal reached for Rikku's hand and held it within his, caressing it tenderly. "What's wrong Rik? Aren't you glad to see me? I'd be…"

"Where have you been?" She cut him off angrily, withdrawing her hand from his comforting clutches. "You're late! I had the baby and worried about you for a month, and you just show up here in the middle of the night like you were never gone!" Tears resurfaced and she mashed them away with her palms annoyed that they'd returned after she finally stopped crying hours ago. "What do you have to say for yourself, Gippal?"

His eye fixated on her emotionless, and there was an uncomfortable pause before Gippal resumed again.

"I don't know, Rikku." He stood up from the chair and continued to stare her down at the foot of her bed. Rikku felt chills shoot through her. It was as if he was inside of her, and her breath caught in her throat like he had a visual instead of physical hold of her heart. The look in his eye did not seem the same; it was vacant and cold, not familiar and warm like it would usually be when he beheld her. "I'm only a figment of your imagination; I can't tell you what you want to know unless you think it up for me, doll face."

Her face went white and her arms slumped to her sides in disappointment, unable to accept the truth. "No, you can't be!" Rikku crawled to her knees and reached for him like a frightened child, sitting in the middle of her hospital bed. She was desperate to prove that he _wasn't _her imagination being cruel; it was just too much for her to bear. "Please let me hold you. I've missed you so much." Her voice became a whisper and she sobbed as she felt warm, strong arms melt around her protectively.

"You've got to stop doing this to yourself, so raynd."_(My heart)_ Gippal said softly, stroking the back of her head with a gloved hand. "You've got our princess to protect. You have to be strong." He squeezed her tighter, eliminating any space between them as she continued to cry; her tears trailed down his epaulet and splashed onto her knee.

"But what if I can't do anything without you, Gippal? I need you." Rikku felt him disappearing from her grasp and struggled to keep him close but to no avail. "Please…Don't go!"

"You'll be fine." He kissed her cheek and thumbed away her tears. "E muja oui, so raynd_ (I love you, my heart)_" With those words he vanished, leaving her alone in the dark and lonely room once more. Rikku let out a shrill wail and collapsed; gasping for air between sobs before waking up to a bright light and nurses hovering worried around her.

"Mrs. Arakaki!" The smallest nurse called, jostling the Al-Bhed frantically to get her to come around. When Rikku realized where she was and what was going on she found herself clinging to her pillow soaked with tears. "Are you all right, Mrs. Arakaki? You were screaming and crying a minute ago." A red headed nurse helped prop the girl upright and handed her a cup of water to drink. Rikku took the container, quickly chugging down its contents.

A little embarrassed and still somewhat disoriented, Rikku tried to get her bearings, smiling at the women around her. "E's cunno _(I'm sorry)_" she apologized in her native tongue, clutching her drink nervously. "I just had a bad dream." Rikku knew that was an understatement, and if there was in fact, a bad side to the Far plane she imagined it wouldn't be much worse than what she had just experienced. "Is this going to affect my going home tomorrow?" She asked, hoping she didn't just extend her stay to another day and possibly a worse nightmare to come the following night. "I only live down the street. I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to." Rikku wasn't sure if she was even allowed to ask such a thing, wondering if they were going to put her in a straight waistcoat instead of letting her leave. "I'm fine, really."

Another taller, but stocky red haired nurse came to Rikku's side and checked her blood pressure along with her eyes and heart. "She's all right. Let's get a medic in here to cast a sleepga spell on her so she could get some proper rest."

Rikku shrugged the nurse off, shaking her head no. "It's ok. I can do that myself." Referring to her white mage skills. Rikku did not train in Bevelle with Yuna all those months for nothing, so she set the cup down onto the table beside her and settled back into the new pillow and blankets the nurses had fixed up for her. "You ladies can go now, I'm so exhausted. Thank you for your help." As they exited the room, the last one to leave shut off the light and Rikku gazed forward, once again alone in the darkness. Putting her hand to her arm she mumbled a quick spell in Al-Bhed and her body began to relax as green rays of light absorbed into her skin and throughout her body. "Finally" Rikku sighed, thinking to herself, turning her gaze to the window. "Now why didn't I do this…" She halted her thoughts and couldn't believe what she saw sitting on the window sill next to her.

The flowers Gippal had given her in her dream were still in the vase he had put them in while he was there. Before she could find out if what she was seeing was, in fact for real, Rikku succumbed to her sleep spell at last, drifting off into a restful slumber for the remainder of the evening.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Paine pulled her hover up to the front of the Djose Clinic and parked. She had taken the day off to pick Rikku up and take her home despite the blonde's protests that she only lived right down the street. There was no way Paine was going to allow Rikku to walk even that short of a distance with a newborn baby in tow along with whatever belongings she brought in with her or received since her stay. As she walked away from the hover she had noticed several other hovers pulling up almost simultaneously around her with people either dropping off loved ones or picking them up and she smiled, thankful she had arrived when she did. Paine shaded her eyes from the sun and scaled the entrance, seeing if Rikku was among the crowd of waiting patients. She spotted her friend with her baby sitting in a wheelchair underneath the entrance canopy, pulled off to the side and out of the way of the busy area, waving her arm in Paine's direction.

Paine tried to read Rikku's face as she approached her, wondering if she was faring better than she was last night. She could hardy believe it herself when Rikku told her every detail about her experience on the comm. Sphere earlier that morning, and although Rikku _did_ say she was 'okey dokey', Paine knew different. It irritated Paine to no end when she did that, pretending to be happy when she was not, especially around her or one of the others. It made Paine feel like she did not expect Rikku to have any other emotions aside from being so damn happy all the time. On the same foot she could also relate, knowing full well that she tried to pull the same bull when she had first met the girls, always acting stoic and serious even when her emotions tried to best her. The looks on their faces still amused her from when she actually laughed uncontrollably in front of them for the first time. They were eating around a fire when it happened, and Paine ended up having to give Rikku the Heimlich from the shock of her outburst of laughter.

"So, you ready to get out of here and go home?" Paine took Lelah from Rikku's arms so she could get out of the wheelchair. "Are you sure you don't want to stay at Yuna's? She's worried about you being by yourself as am I." She opened the back door to the hover, proceeding to fasten the baby into her car seat.

Rikku handed the wheelchair over to a nurse, thanking her for her help and the woman smiled, wheeling it away hurriedly for the occupation of another patient. She was glad to be out of that uncomfortable contraption, only riding in it because it was part of the clinic's policy or something else one of the nurses had told her about in passing. Lifting up her suitcase, Rikku headed over to the trunk and popped it, placing the bag inside. Paine went and retrieved the balloons, stuffing them into the trunk as well. The two strapped themselves in and Paine started up the hover, checking to see if it was clear to go ahead. Rikku looked behind her to make sure Lelah was secure, and noticed no one was coming.

"You're clear!" She held the vase of mysterious flowers in her lap and Paine drove on. "And no, I don't want to go to my cousin's. I need to get everything situated at home with Lelah and the house so I can get back to the Faction. I don't want there to be chaos when Gippal gets back, and if I leave everything to Slovak any longer there _will_ be." The last of that sentence was said with annoyance; Slovak was not someone Rikku thought should be running the Faction in _anybody's _absence.

Paine picked up on said annoyance, turning the hover left onto Rikku's street. "What's wrong with Slovak, or whatever his name is?"

"I don't know, it's just…" The hover stopped in front of Rikku's house and she froze, staring at it through the passenger window. Suddenly the realization that Gippal was not in the driveway working on an old piece of machina he had taken home from the Faction like he usually did hit the girl like a ton of bricks and she gulped, wondering if she should have taken her cousin up on her offer after all. She thought after the last month of him not being there she would be used to things but for some reason the feelings had broken through whatever invisible inside barrier she put up. Rikku turned to Paine, her eyes instantly filled with fear at the thought of going in there. "Oh gosh Painey" her voice cracked as she gripped the vase tighter. "This suddenly got harder than I thought. What do I do?"

"Just calm down and relax." Paine turned the hover off and got out, heading over to Rikku's side. She opened the door, took the vase from her in one hand and stretched the other out to help her friend out of the hover. Paine was beginning to think she should have brought Yuna along with her for support but knew she could not come due to other pressing engagements. She watched as Rikku sat motionless, held captive by fear and doubt, afraid to go into the house she and Gippal shared. Paine did not envy her friend or try to relate to her situation in any way, not putting herself in the former thief's shoes. She could see by the look on Rikku's face that it was hard and nothing she would want any of her friends to have to experience. For what seemed like an hour but was really only a minute Paine finally felt Rikku grip her hand and she pulled her out of the hover, shutting the door behind her. "You ok?" At a loss for words, it was the only thing Paine could come up with.

Rikku took a deep breath in and leaned against the hover for balance; she stared up toward the house. In the back of her mind she could hear Gippal's words from the night before.

"_You have to be strong. You can do this."_

Her face frowned, and she cursed him internally for not knowing what he was talking about, but deep down she knew he was right. With a newly empowered glance at Paine, Rikku pushed herself off of the hover and went to the back seat, taking Lelah out of her carrier. Once again Gippal had given her strength despite his absence, and to thank him in some sort of way she kissed her daughter, making her squeal happily; her blue-green spirals sparkled, reflecting the morning sun.

"I'm fine! Now let's get inside before I lose this sudden burst of confidence." She turned her attention to her baby as she headed for the front door, Paine trailing behind her with the vase and suitcase in each hand. "Just wait till you see your new room! Now you won't be sleeping in there yet but you'll love mama's bed. It's the biggest there is!"

**------------------------------------**

The rest of the afternoon went swiftly by; Paine had done her best to help Rikku move most of Lelah's things into her master bedroom such as the bassinet, dresser, changing table, and helped hook up the baby monitor that Gippal had fashioned from two comm. Sphere's that went from the bedroom to the kitchen. There were many traces of the young man around the house; practically every appliance in there was either made by him from scratch or modified to suit their needs. It was a little hard at first for Rikku as she made her way up the stairs and along the hallway; there were framed pictures of the two of them from various events. In most of them Paine got a laugh noting Gippal's expression which she liked to call 'happy reluctance'. Happy because he was with Rikku, reluctant because he had begun not to like his picture taken over the years due to some appearing in Shelinda's tabloid, and none very flattering at that.

In the kitchen Paine glanced over at the clock on the microwave, shocked at the time it was. "I guess I should get back. Nooj can only take so much of Juin since he seems to be getting into practically everything these days. Will you be all right?" She felt guilty for having to leave, but Rikku assured her otherwise.

"Go ahead, we'll be fine!" Rikku walked over to Paine and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you so much for helping me get everything straightened out. If I was by myself it would have taken me a long time. I get so distracted." She had a tendency to start tasks and not finish them; something Paine had learned while she was visiting.

"I could tell!" Paine smirked. "How do you get anything done in this house?" She noted how Rikku would wash a dish and leave the rest in the sink with the faucet running to go fix the bed, only to leave the blankets on the floor as she went on to take the trash out. Paine followed behind her, finishing the dishes, fixing the bed and anything else the young girl left in her wake.

Paine stood up from her seat and made her way to the sink, placing her empty glass in the wash bin. "I'm going to go upstairs and see the baby one more time before I head out." Rikku nodded and Paine headed upstairs to Rikku's room where Lelah was napping.

Paine placed her hands to the side of the bassinet watching the little one snore and hiccup here and there for a couple of minutes; her hands were curled into tiny fists along side her head and she seemed content in whatever dream she was having.

"Where are you, Gippal?" She whispered into the air, pulling Lelah's baby blanket up to her waist. "Your ass better be alive somewhere or Yevon help me I'll beat you worse if we find you dead." Paine paused and took a breath in; a tear fell from her eye and she wiped it away quickly. She had not expected to get so upset, but thinking about that little girl in the bassinet growing up without knowing her sometimes crazy but mostly well meaning father gave her just an inkling of how Rikku must have been feeling for the past month and especially the past few days as well.

Downstairs Paine heard the doorbell chime and figured Rikku might have locked herself out or something so she headed out of the room. Standing in the doorway, Paine looked back toward the bassinet and imagined Gippal sitting on the bed in front of it, watching his daughter with silent excitement on his face. It made the warrior smile a little, giving her hope that he might someday return to them all safe and sound.

**----------------------------------------**

When she reached the bottom of the stairway Paine heard another voice besides Rikku's coming from the kitchen. When she entered there was an Al-Bhed man about five foot ten standing by the island across from Rikku with his hands leaned onto the counter and a sphere sitting in front of him. His hair was shorter than Gippal's; blond with grease mixed into the tips possibly from running his hands through it while working. Paine did not go into the room at first, resolving to stand off to the side and observe instead of interrupting. It was probably some Faction issue that she did not have any business knowing.

The man handed Rikku the sphere, switching it on for her to view. Paine watched as Rikku's face drained of its color and her hands began to shake; tears immediately followed and fell faster than water from the tap. Rushing into the kitchen Paine made her way to the counter and looked at Rikku with worry in her eyes.

"Rikku what is it? What did you see? What the hell did you show her, you imbecile?" She glared at the man angrily but he just stood there with regret in his eyes.

"I'm sorry" He said solemnly. "She had to see it immediately." He held out his hand to her in greeting. "My name is Slovak. I've been taking care of things in Rikku's absence. You must be Paine."

She eyed him curiously, not knowing exactly how to take this man since Rikku did not tell her what she thought of him while they were in the hover but knew Rikku did not sound too happy mentioning his name. Reluctant at first, Paine finally shook his hand in return. "Why are you here and why is she crying?" Her eyes continued to fixate on him with distrust and irritation. "Why couldn't this wait? She just got home from the clinic."

"Paine…" Rikku sobbed softly, clutching the sphere with trembling hands. "G-G-Gippal…he…"

"What about Gippal?" Paine turned from Slovak back to Rikku. "What's going on?"

Rikku handed her friend the sphere and put her hands to her face, sobbing even harder. Paine felt instant fear and her own legs beginning to lose their balance at the prospect of the sphere's contents so she darted to a chair at the kitchen table, sitting herself down. Staring at the sphere for a moment she hesitantly turned it on and it glowed brightly. She could not see anything at first for all of the static, but as she strained her eyes a little to get a clearer view her breath caught in her throat. "This can't be…" she said in disbelief, fighting sudden tears of her own.

The sphere showed sand as far as the eye could see; wind whipped little tornadoes around the barren plain, tossing occasional tumbleweeds that blew through up into the air like blitz balls. As the sphere made its way across the desert it passed by what looked like a figure and quickly backtracked. It was a body alright, it was only half buried on its left hand side suggesting that the person had only recently perished there. The recorder of the sphere zoomed in on the unfortunate soul, revealing torn charcoal colored pants and an equally tattered violet cotton long sleeve shirt. The most distinctive of the clothing was the black and red epaulet that sat on its partially submerged shoulder. Paine brushed it off, thinking to herself that practically everyone had one of those shoulder protectors after Gippal was named a hero, but when the recorder moved in closer to view his face, the black leather eye patch fashioned to the man's right eye sealed the chest of any possibility that it could have been anyone but the person they were looking for. Deciding she had seen enough, Paine switched off the sphere and set it back onto the table.

She walked slowly over to Rikku who was leaning on her elbows against the kitchen island with her hands still in her face. "I'm sorry Rikku." Were the only words she could say and Paine wrapped her arms around her, sobbing quietly along with her friend for a few moments.

Slovak broke the silence that hung thick in the air. "Rikku let me be the first to give you my deepest condolences. I've known Gippal for as long as you have; we all grew up together, remember?" He picked at an indent on the island's surface with his finger as he struggled to word his next sentence properly. "I know this is sudden, but the Faction is going to need a new leader and I…"

"That's enough!" Paine snapped, lifting her head from Rikku's shoulder in surprise. "Can we not discuss this right now? She's just found out her husband is dead, and all you can think of is how quickly you can take over his job?" She quickly realized the wording she had used and looked at Rikku with remorse. "I didn't mean…"

Rikku, unable to hear anymore about Gippal broke from Paine's grasp and ran upstairs to her bedroom. She threw herself onto the bed, grabbed one of Gippal's pillows and broke down into it, sobbing and screaming inaudible words. Lelah woke suddenly from her nap and began to cry in fear of the unfamiliar sounds, wailing louder than her mother. The two downstairs stood across from each other listening to the entire scene; Slovak was uncomfortable, Paine was pissed. She eventually left him in the kitchen and went to the bottom of the staircase, deciding to check up on Rikku and the baby.

"I hope you're happy with what you've done here." Paine crossed her arms and burned through Slovak with her piercing red eyes, making the man even more uncomfortable as she ascended the stairs. In another place and time his words and actions would have introduced his inner organs to the blade of her sword, but six years and having a child could sometimes turn even the hardest of souls soft and unwilling to shed blood for no reason other than a temper.

"I had to come here and deliver this news." He pleaded up to her, slightly annoyed that he was getting such flack for bringing the sphere over. "And she _does_ need to consult her father on the fate of the Faction. This can't wait. I'll come back when everyone is assembled. I left my number on the table. Goodbye." Slovak saluted Paine and walked out of the front door, slamming it behind him. Paine was left standing in the middle of the stairs trying to figure out how someone who had claimed to know Gippal and Rikku for so long could be so callous. The screaming and carrying on had ceased on both counts, startling Paine and she dismissed her thoughts, jogging up the rest of the way.

When she made it to the bedroom Paine saw Rikku lying on the bed with Lelah on her belly nuzzled into her chest. Her eyes were closed, not noticing her friend standing there, and she was rubbing her baby's back in tender circles while whispering words to her in Al-bhed that Paine could not quite hear. Whatever she was saying had obviously worked because the little one had fallen back to sleep fast and Paine was glad. She strolled over to the other side of the bed, situating herself next to Rikku and Lelah.

"I scared her." The blonde said-- her voice hoarse and regretful. "I forgot she was in here and I scared her. I feel so bad." Her tears returned and Rikku began crying again. Paine, not knowing what else to do hugged Rikku into her and they lie there together for a while, crying and comforting one another as they mourned the loss of a friend and lover. Paine decided Nooj would just have to put up with Juin's curiousity for just a little while longer. There were more important things to be dealt with now.

------------------------------

_Was that all right? I had several scenarios written down, but I wasn't sure which one was best. I hope this wasn't too bad. Sorry it's so long as well. There was no way to cut this chapter at all. Thanks for reading, btw. _


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

It was early in the evening when Paine finally stirred. Sleepily she perused her surroundings, unsure of where she had been until she noticed Rikku sleeping soundly next to her. It was then that Paine remembered that the two had been on the bed and must have fallen asleep. To the left of Rikku she also spotted Lelah; her eyes were open and she too seemed to be scaling the area. Unfortunately for her, she did not know she was in a safe place just yet and started to whimper. As quietly as she could, Paine slipped off of her side of the bed and hurried over to where the baby was so Rikku would not be disturbed. She scooped Lelah up from the blankets and placed her head on her shoulder, rocking the little one gently.

"You must be hungry little lady." Paine whispered, taking Lelah out of the bedroom and shutting the door behind her. Figuring Rikku could use the rest while she was there, Paine decided to feed Lelah a pre-prepared bottle from the fridge. As she headed down the staircase Paine heard voices coming from Rikku's living room and wondered when company came over. A little nervous the warrior peeked into the living room un-noticed and saw Baralai and Nooj sitting on the sofa idly chatting amongst them. It was then she remembered why she was on the bed in the first place, and she became sad once again.

"Hey." She smiled meekly at her husband and Baralai, subconsciously clutching Lelah even tighter than before. Paine knew why they were there, and her heart became heavy at the thought of the four of them never being in the same room together ever again. She tried to hide her tears but it was kind of hard to without having a free hand. Nooj stood up from his seat and slowly made his way towards her. "What are you doing here?" Paine asked as he brought her in for a much needed hug; it was only a few hours since they had last seen each other but to her it seemed like forever. Perhaps it was because the loss of Gippal made her realize how grateful she was to have Nooj, causing her to miss him more than usual. "Where's Juin?"

"He's with Yuna and Adlain at my house." Baralai replied, coming up behind the two of them. "Let me take the little one. I imagine it's time for her to eat!" He clapped his hands together at Lelah, reaching out for her and Paine passed her over. "Does Rikku have prepared bottles in the fridge?" Paine nodded and Baralai made his way into the kitchen making silly faces at Lelah all the way.

Nooj and Paine stood in the living room lost in their embrace for a few minutes. "We were kind of hoping that Slovak guy was here." Nooj said kind of annoyed, his mechanical hand moving gently up and down her back. "I guess I don't need to tell you what happened then?" Paine nodded again and tears began to resurface. She quickly thumbed them away.

"I guess we kind of expected it," she said as the two made their way to the living room, taking a seat on the couch. "But to see it with our own eyes, it's so…final."

Baralai brought a content Lelah into the living room and settled into the loveseat by the couch, adjusting the bottle for her. "It was, but do either of you get the feeling that something just isn't right?" He received a pair of blank stares from the two before they responded in unison.

"You too?"

"So you _do_ feel that way too? I thought it was just me." Lelah cooed as Baralai put her to his shoulder and patted her back. "I just can't place why I feel like this. It's almost as if I don't feel it in my heart that he's truly gone, despite the visual evidence."

"Well, we're not going to get to the bottom of anything while we sit here. I suppose we are going to have to start making some type of burial-slash-funeral service for him first and foremost." Nooj grabbed hold of his cane and propped himself up to his feet. When he stabled himself he reached out a hand for Paine. "I doubt Rikku will be up to doing any such thing so it is up to us. We run the Triad anyway- it's only right."

Paine grabbed Nooj's hand and rose to her feet as well. "I guess you're right." She said reluctantly. "Once this news makes major headlines people are going to want to know where they can go and we don't need them flocking to Rikku's in droves, causing chaos in the street on her block." Paine looked over at Baralai as he played with Lelah. "She looks just like him, doesn't she?"

"It's eerie." He agreed. "Then again all of our children kind of resemble us in some way or another."

"We're going to be heading out now, Baralai." Nooj said casually, pointing his body in the direction of the front door. "Are you going to stay here for a while?"

"Yeah, I promised Yuna I'd make sure Rikku was situated before I left. Tell her I'll be coming home soon when you pick up Juin." Baralai stood from his chair and put his free arm around Paine. "Call if you guys need anything. I doubt I'm going to sleep well tonight, I don't know about you"

They both shook their heads, not wanting to agree but it was inevitable. "You too, B." Paine said again, trying to fight more tears. "Goodnight."

The door closed behind them, and Baralai returned to the loveseat. Lelah gurgled, and he gazed into her blue green eyes. "I wonder what you're thinking?." He said to her, letting her wrap her tiny finger around his index finger. "Quite a grip you have there! Your dad had a grip like that. I should tell you the story of when we were on the Winno and he lost his balance trying to film us." Baralai laughed a little to himself. "He held on for dear life _with _the camera still in his other hand. We always told him he…"

"…should have left the recording to Dr. P" a voice interrupted from behind him.

Baralai turned around to see Rikku standing there, her hair down and a mess, and her eyes seemed a bit swollen. "Have I been out long? Have _you_ been here long, Baralai?" Feeling bad for making him take care of Lelah Rikku snatched her up from his arms and patted her back. "I'm sorry you had to be here by yourself."

"That's okay, Rikku. Nooj and Paine were just here not too long ago. They needed to get back to Juin." He watched as she plopped down onto the couch in front of him, making sure she didn't shake the baby too much as she did so. "How are you doing? Can I get you anything? A drink?"

"A sedative?" She added, chuckling wearily. "I'm kidding. I _could_ use a bite to eat, but don't worry about me, Baralai you've got your own family to tend to. You should go."

He could tell she really did not want to be left alone, but was trying as hard as she could to be together. Baralai made his way to the kitchen, looking through all of the cabinets. "Nonsense, Rikku. What in Yevon's name do you have to eat in this place anyway?"

"Probably not a whole lot. I haven't been shopping in a while." Rikku got off the couch and placed a now sleeping Lelah into the new playpen she and Paine had set up a few hours earlier. She stood beside him in the kitchen reopening the cabinets he had just been in. "I'll just order something." She paused, leaned her hands against the counter and stared at Baralai. "Thanks…for being here. Everyone's been so nice, disrupting their lives for me."

Baralai pulled her into his arms and hugged her. "We've _all_ been disrupted; I mean, sure I didn't know him as long as you have, but I'll always consider him a brother. I admit I had my preconceived notions when we first met, but we all formed a bond. Besides, you _are_ my family." He held Rikku by the shoulders; her hands fell to her sides as she tried not to make eye contact. "You're not alone in this, you know. We're all here. Now- let's see what we can do about dinner. Know of any good pizza places?"

While they ordered dinner, Nooj was at his home on Mushroom Rock Road on the comm. Sphere, trying to contact Slovak at the faction. The screen was fuzzy for a moment before the tall blonde's face flashed onto the little screen.

"Meyvn Nooj!" he said surprised, taking a seat on the desk chair in front of him. "What can I do for you this evening?"

"It's about Gippal." Nooj said coolly, not wanting to make any idle conversation. "We are trying to make arrangements for a funeral of some sort, and were wondering where his body was so we could pick it up. Is it in a safe, cool place?"

Slovak seemed to shift in his seat, and his eyes roamed around the room he was in, irritating Nooj.

"Is there a problem?"

"Well…" Slovak began, tenting his fingers together nervously. "There was no body." He couldn't see for the static interfering with the conversation, but Slovak could hear the sound of Nooj's arm slam against the desk he was seated in front of. "I'm sorry Meyvn. I thought you knew…"

"No. No one told me this. Why wasn't the body retrieved if there was sphere evidence of it? Who is responsible for this carelessness?" Nooj found it hard to keep his anger in check, clenching his fists slowly and trying to take deep breaths.

"The wind had begun to pick up quickly and before we knew it we were caught in a horrible storm" Slovak said quickly, trying to appease Nooj. "The body was completely engulfed. We were lucky enough to get what we did. Please don't go assuming my men are incapable of doing their jobs."

"I wasn't implying that _they_ were not doing their jobs." He bit back coldly. "You should have put the body on the airship _then_ recorded the obituary. It is common knowledge. Now I have to tell his wife she doesn't even have a body to bury or whatever it is the Al-Bhed do when someone dies."

"I'll thank you not to disrespect my people, Nooj." Slovak snapped back angrily. "I know you are grieving but you are not the only one. It was a mistake we cannot repair and I am not going to dwell on it further. Do you have anything else you want to discuss? Because I am a busy man these days. _I_ have a faction to run."

Nooj sat in shock at the tone he was receiving from the man on the other end. Refusing to be one-upped he spoke again. "_You_ will not have a faction to run for long once Rikku gets herself together so _I_ suggest you not get comfortable. Good night."

The sphere went black and Nooj put his head in his hands, angry at Slovak and even further convinced something was not right.

In the meantime, Slovak headed down a long corridor, angry himself and he kicked open the last door on the left. The room was dark aside from a sconce nailed to the wall with a candle almost completely spent flickering inside it.

"You know…" Slovak started to say as he pulled up a chair and sat backwards into it with his hands resting on the back. He lit a cigarette, and the smoke rose, ringing around the flame as it grew weaker. "I'm going to have to put my plan into action sooner than I thought." The smoke made its way to a form chained by their wrists and ankles as they dangled from the wall Slovak was sitting in front of. "Your friends are beginning to annoy me. First that leather clad she-devil threatened me, then that crippled, washed up Youth league degenerate had nerve to talk to me like I'm an imbecile. I don't know why I don't just dispose of them like I did you, starting with that wife of yours…"

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Sorry this is so late. Let's just say I'm not good with my free time. Anyway, I heard this was nominated in an Lj community- thank you to those that nominated this fic! I'm so touched and surprised! It's nice to know there are people reading it still.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

"Now Slovy old buddy, you don't have to get Rikku and my friends involved in this…game you're playing here!" Gippal teased, hoping he had chosen the right words on how to deal with his friend. It wasn't really a true effort on his part, what with him not eating in weeks or days, rendering him weaker than usual. "You got me; whatever it is you're doing- is there a hidden sphere around here?"

"I'm not your "old buddy", and one in your position shouldn't be calling me 'Slovy' either." His captor said flatly. "In case you haven't noticed this isn't a joke and you're not on some "hidden sphere". Slovak replaced the old candle on the wall with a new one, and it illuminated the room plentifully, revealing Gippal's chambers.

"Could you at least let me down from these chains so I could take a normal piss? I don't really enjoy having my pants pulled down by some goon of yours to relieve myself into a bucket. It's so awkward." Gippal complained, rolling his eye. "He doesn't even ask me if I want a cigarette after he handles me! I'm beginning to feel used here." It was hardly Gippal's nature to be serious even in the worst of situations; a trait which only seemed to annoy Slovak further. "Sheesh. Tough crowd…You…"

"Will you shut up already, Gippal? You're not helping your situation any."

"Well, I think if you were gonna do anything to me you'da done it by now. I mean, what are you waiting for anyway? Why not just off me?" He struggled to move, but the chains continued to make him dangle like a puppet. He groaned in frustration. "Please let me down? Seriously?"

Slovak stared his captive down for what seemed like an eternity to Gippal before loosening the chains. Without warning Gippal crashed to the ground with a THUD!, causing him to groan even more.

"Jeez, man! Ya coulda warned me or something!"

"There's a storm drain- you got two minutes to piss. Do it now before I tighten you back up. And don't try nothin' funny or I'll blow your face off." Slovak turned around to give Gippal some privacy and the young man wearily turned to face the wall, unzipped his pants and proceeded to urinate, sighing contentedly.

"Ah, thanks so much Slov…" Gippal paused, not wanting to anger Slovak anymore than he was by calling him his nickname. "I feel better already." Once he was done he was jerked back upwards to hang suspended yet again, hitting his head on the low ceiling. "UGH! Cut it out already you ass!"

Slovak tightened the pulley and locked it with a key that hung around his neck. "I suppose I should have left you some company to relieve me of your color commentary, but overall I think it _was_ wise to get rid of everyone but you on that airship."

That sentence forced Gippal to remember his comrades, the ones that came with him and Slovak on the 'special' dig. Alek and Fajio were two of his closest friends, and it was no surprise to him that they wanted to join him when he asked.

**Flashback- about a month ago aboard Gippal's airship:**

_The newly fixed Winno glided through the air like a feather over Bikanel; Gippal, Alek and Fajio were standing on the upper deck enjoying the breezes through their blond heads. Figuring no one else was going to take advantage of all the ship had to offer after Yevon had fallen apart, Gippal decided to take on the airship and repair it from top to bottom making it one of the most efficient and beautiful vessels Spira had ever seen. When he allowed Paine to drive it for the first time he mocked her for days about the orgasmic look on her face the whole time she piloted, causing many threats to his well being and manhood from her. Slovak was piloting this time, as he often did on digs while the other three were outside._

"_Do you think this place is entirely untouched like Slovak says?" Fajio asked, his hands leaning onto the railing as he stared off into the clouds._

"_I sure hope so." Gippal replied taking a seat on a lounge chair he'd placed against one of the walls. "Slovy's pretty good at finding these sorts of places. Do you remember that last place he found? We made some killer Gil on the haul from that one!" He leaned backwards into the chair and stared up at the sky._

"_Oh it was awesome!" Alek joined in, seating himself on the floor between the two men. "Jilda was able to buy everything for Aneela's room that we needed after that trip!" He said excitedly of his wife and little girl. "I may be able to tell her she can get that new sofa she'd been eyeing down at O'aka's if it's as good this time around."_

"_Speaking of wives" Fajio interrupted, "Gippal how did you ever convince Rikku to let you come on this dig? Isn't she due any day now?" He turned to face his friend who had his eye closed._

_Gippal seemed nonchalant in his answer. "She let's me do what I want. Rikku don't give me no trouble." Despite his coolness he hated on the inside that he had really let her down by accepting the dig, and it bothered him about ninety nine percent of the time. "Besides, we should be back in plenty of time for the baby to be born. I promised her, you know?"_

_Fajio turned his attentions back to the clouds but was surprised to see sand. It seemed that they had been lowered without them even knowing. "Hey guys- are we near the spot? We're awfully close to the ground here…"_

_The airship slowed to a crawl and Slovak came out from the hatch doors. "All right guys…this is it!" And he raised a gun like weapon at the three. Gippal recognized the weapon right away._

"_Hey, that looks like my plasma shooter. What are you doin' with that, Slovy?" He asked nervously, watching Slovak raise the gun to his chest and aim._

_Without a word he fired the gun and shot, striking Alek, forcing him backwards off of the airship and into the endless sand. _

"_ALEK!!" called Fajio frantically, running to the railing that his comrade had fallen off of. "Slovak! What are you doing!? What is the meaning of…" before he could finish the sentence Fajio was struck as well, joining Alek in his sandy grave. _

_Gippal could only watch in utter shock and disbelief. When he gained his bearings he ran as fast as he could to where his friends had fallen and looked over the side to see if he could spot them but by then it was too late; the airship was still moving and the sand had been whipped around by the wind making it impossible to see. He turned slowly, shaking in his boots to look at Slovak who was still holding up the shotgun. The barrels smoked; white cottony puffs rose into the sky and Slovak grinned evilly._

"_What the hell have you done, Slovak?!" He screamed, afraid to move from his spot. "They had FAMILIES! WIVES! CHILDREN!! Why?" All he could think of was their wives; Jilda won't be buying a new sofa anytime soon now that she would have to pay for Alek's funeral. _

_Slovak stood unfazed by Gippal's words. He aimed the gun at Gippal and cleared his throat. "This is how it's gonna be from now on, Gippal. You do as I say and I won't hurt you. You __**don't**__ do as I say and aside from hurting you I hurt your family. Am I clear?"_

"_Crystal" Gippal said, hanging his head in defeat; a tear fell from his good eye in remorse for his friends, and more came after that when he realized his promise to Rikku. _

"_Good. Now go pilot this thing using the map I left by the cockpit. DO IT NOW!" He ordered and Gippal went quickly without argument. If the Crimson Squad had taught him anything it was to always obey in hostage situations. It helped prolong life and get a better assessment of the situation._

"_I'm sorry" He whispered, taking a wrinkled picture of Rikku out of his pocket. "I'm so sorry"_

**End Flashback**

Visibly upset by the memory, Gippal lost his enthusiasm, allowing the reality of his situation to finally sink in. "So, what do you plan on doing with me, really?"

"Oh you'll find out in due time." Slovak answered coldly. "As a matter of fact, you'll be finding out tomorrow to be precise. You just better be ready and continue to do as I say or…well. I think you know the answer to that." And before he could allow Gippal any more questions he exited the caved room, leaving the faction leader shouting at him from behind.

"WAIT! You didn't tell me about Rikku? Did she have her baby...what about Alek and Fajio's memorials? Slovak?" Realizing he was left alone with no answers, Gippal succumbed to the emotions he had pent up regarding his friends and family, mourning in the darkness while his captor fled by airship back to Djose. It was going to be yet another long, dreary night of unanswered questions and assumptions. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

**The next day- Luca Stadium.**

None of them wanted to be there; not on that particular day, the day they were going to have to face the reality that their friend was truly gone and there was nothing they could do about it. No longer would they hear his incessant boasting about his manhood and machina skills, although everyone knew the latter was true even though they wouldn't admit it. The saddest thing at that moment was the daughter he had that wouldn't know just how funny and kind her father really was despite the cockiness and self appreciation.

Paine sat to Rikku's right, and to the right of her were Nooj and Baralai. Yuna took a spot on Rikku's other side, sitting in black and lilac colored robes with her hands neatly folded in front of her. She watched Paine, Nooj and Baralai as they all seemed to stare at Lelah, fixated on the little one that so eerily resembled Gippal. Yuna did not question Baralai when he asked her if he could sit by his former squad members; she knew the three once four of them were a tight knit bunch who had gone through so much together and he felt like he needed them more than ever. Their sons were together at Paine's house on Mushroom Rock Road, no doubt running Elma and Lucil ragged, but she didn't think two little boys should be at a memorial, or rather- a funeral service. Averting her gaze from the three, Yuna turned her eyes on Rikku, who had been staring into space while clutching her daughter like a security blanket. There were no trickling tears, but her eyes were definitely moist around the bottom lids and her nose was red. It seemed like the black dress she was wearing sucked all of the happiness or what was left of it out of her more than usual thin frame while she sat there. The former summoner flashed herself back to when she first lost Tidus and remembered all too well how her cousin was feeling. She was thankful now for Baralai and felt guilty for having him when Rikku had no one. She was jolted out of her thoughts when Nooj spoke.

"It looks like the ceremony is starting." He turned to Paine, gingerly taking her hand. "Did you finish your speech?" She nodded without making eye contact, and Nooj turned the other way to Baralai. "And you as well?" Baralai too nodded and smiled weakly. "We should stand together. He would have wanted us to be together, don't you both agree?"

"Yes" they said in unison, and Nooj nodded.

"Very well. Yuna, will you be all right with Rikku here?" he asked Yuna.

"Of course. We'll be fine, right Rikku?" She looked at Rikku sympathetically.

"Yeah." Rikku replied softly, still clutching Lelah tight and not making eye contact. "Whatever." She glanced up and looked slowly around at the people as they gradually filled every seat in the stadium. There were all kinds of races there; Al-Bhed, Ronso, Hypello, New Yevonites, and even some Guado, although she wasn't too surprised considering all of the work her husband and the other guys did to make sure there was peace all over Spira. There was someone, however, that Rikku didn't see and she pointed it out straight away.

"Has anyone seen Slovak? He was supposed to be here with Pops representing the Faction." The others had begun to groan at the sound of his name but she cut them off. "Now stop that. Despite his…oddness he is still kinda running things and needs to be here. He's also, or _was_ also Gippal's good friend. He needs our respect."

The others didn't say anything further but knew she had a point. "I haven't seen him around anywhere at all this morning." Baralai quickly added, pretending to look around for him. "I'm sure he'll be around shortly." And as he finished the last sentence the dome closed up from above and music started playing.

The stadium was packed with people right down to the floor area. Three black caskets rested on platforms in front where Rikku and the rest sat, each with intricately woven cloths draped over them. Since there were no bodies in them, people were asked to put mementos of the three in the caskets instead. Paine threw in a recorder and a sphere with footage of the three of them on it, Baralai put a sash inside that had the New Yevon's crest embroidered on it; it had been the one Gippal wore for Baralai when he represented him at his and Yuna's wedding three years ago. Nooj placed a ratty stuffed shoopuf inside the casket; Juin told him it would protect Uncle Gippal if he was scared out on the Far plane. In all his years seeking out his own death Nooj never imagined one of his friends would beat him to it, not that he was looking anymore since his marriage to Paine and the birth of his son. He realized that the past could not be changed and the future should be embraced by new, positive changes and he wanted to see what his son would do when he reached his age.

Lastly, Rikku had put in several items she thought represented Gippal the best. The first being an eye patch she made for him when she was eight and he was nine. Rikku back then noticed he was uncomfortable with nothing to cover it so she fashioned one out of a piece of leather she got from a suit she owned. He wore the piece until the strap snapped when he was sixteen from so much wear. The second item was a washcloth he used to wash the dishes for her while she was pregnant; the one he was holding when he asked her if she could name their child after his mother. Gippal was never a sentimentalist, but Rikku thought the rag represented a moment in time that she wanted to remember so she initially had it in a memory box for Lelah when she grew older. Lastly, Rikku put in a pacifier and two pictures; one of her and Gippal on their wedding day, and one of her and Lelah at the clinic when she was born.

"Everyone shut up and give me yer attention!" A voice boomed through the microphones at the podium. Everyone turned their attention to Cid, who didn't seem too comfortable up there but stood his ground nonetheless. "You all know I ain't good with words, and I'm definitely not good with these types of ceremonies either, so if ya give me any flack fer it you know where the exits are. It isn't about me today" He paused, lowering his head and drawing in a deep breath. "It's about the three that are being remembered by those empty caskets below me. They were good men…" Cid paused again and glanced at his daughter. She had her head rested gently on top of Lelah's and she sobbed quietly. If there were ever a moment in Rikku's life where Cid could go back in time to make things right this time would have been it. The worst part was that unfortunately he could relate to his daughter, having lost his own wife when Rikku was as tiny as the bundle in her arms. Looking back up to the audience, Cid proceeded.

"Now these fi…"

"Wait!" Called a voice from the far entrance of the stadium. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and noticed Slovak approaching Cid, but he wasn't alone. There was someone behind him; dirty, thin, and they were in hand shackles with a chain that connected to shackles clasped on their feet. The crowd stood to their own feet simultaneously and there was a unanimous gasp among them when they recognized who it was, especially from the five in the front row.

Rikku wiped her eyes with a free hand and focused on the person behind Slovak. She wasn't sure at first, but as he got closer to them her eyes grew wide and new tears emerged.

"G-Gippal?"

In an instant Rikku's legs gave out and she collapsed. Yuna grabbed a suddenly scared Lelah from her arms and Paine caught Rikku from behind before she hit the ground.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay, I'm almost positive there is some major OOC- ness going on in this chapter. I tried not to go too overboard with the emotions, but…ah well. I did what I could. I guess this is also a good time to mention that this story is AU and I have no ownership of anything but the storyline. The rest belongs to…well…you all know who it belongs to so why am I going there?

**Chapter 8:**

"G-Gippal?"

"She's coming to." Yuna said relieved, rubbing her cousin's arm gently. "Rikku, are you all right?"

Rikku looked at her cousin confused. "Was I just dreaming? What's going on? Where's Lelah? Is she okay?" She lifted her head up off the pillow and tried to get up off the cot she was lying on but Paine lightly shoved her back down.

"She's fine. You're at the stadium infirmary and you fainted. You're not going anywhere." Rikku knew it was pointless to argue with either of them so she did what she was told. Paine gave Yuna a look and Rikku picked up on it right away.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on? Why are you guys looking at each other like that?" She glared the best she could at both of them and waited. "Was that Gippal I saw or not?"

Figuring it was pointless to try keeping anything from her, and the fact that she had every right to know, Yuna nodded for Paine to start so they each took a seat down beside her.

"It's even hard for us to believe." Paine said, picking at her fingernail with her thumb. "But you weren't seeing things. That _was_ Gippal you saw behind Slovak." Rikku shot back up and tried to move off the cot. Yuna and Paine continued to hold her back down. "Rikku, you need to calm down or I'm going to clock you one!"

"All right all right. Jeez." She said defeated. "I'm not gonna go anywhere." Rikku slumped back down again and sighed. "Go on"

"It turns out Gippal was responsible for Alek and Fajio." Yuna added sadly. "Slovak found him late last night on Bikanel Island. Supposedly he confessed to killing the two of them."

"That's impossible!" Rikku said shocked. "Gippal loved them like brothers! He wouldn't have done anything like that!"

"That's why she said 'Supposedly', Rikku. Of course we don't believe it to be true." Paine added. "Something doesn't fit." Nooj and Baralai came into the stadium infirmary, each with a grim face. "Guys, did you get any new information? Where's Gippal? Can we see him?"

Nooj shook his head, approaching his wife. "He's been taken to Bevelle, the tenth floor of the Via Purifico, where he'll be held until they can figure out what to make of his 'confession'."

"You agree that he has to be innocent, right?" Rikku looked hopefully at Nooj and he nodded in agreement.

"You know what they say-innocent _until_ proven guilty" He placed a comforting hand on Paine's shoulder and she rested her cheek on it.

"You didn't answer me before" Paine noted. "Can we see him?"

"The guards at the temple said only Rikku could go see him. As for us, we didn't get to talk to him." Baralai added, making his way over to Yuna. "Slovak wouldn't let him say anything more than what he admitted, which seems a little off to me, but…I don't know."

"Then I want to see him now!" Rikku demanded, sliding herself off of the cot and onto her feet. "I'm going to Bevelle. Wherever Lelah is, please let her stay there just a bit longer." She headed for the infirmary door but Paine blocked her path.

"Rikku you can't- you're not in the right frame of mind!" She tried to push her towards the cot but Rikku resisted. "You're still dressed in your mourning clothes!"

"I don't care. I _am _in the right frame of mind, and I _am_ going. Don't try to stop me!" Rikku calmed down, took a deep breath and looked at her friend seriously. "Please Paine. Let me do this. I need to see him. Just watch Lelah and I'll be back before you know it."

Paine looked at the other three in the room and they unanimously motioned for her to step aside. "All right. But be careful. You know how dangerous the VP is. Contact us if you need anything. Lelah is in good hands with your Pop." She smiled at Rikku and watched her disappear down the hallway and Nooj took her hand.

"Let's get going ourselves. It looks like the ceremonies are over, and we're not going to get any more information while we're here. Juin and Adlain must be wondering where we all are anyway." He allowed Paine to go ahead of him out of the room, following slowly behind her. Yuna and Baralai weren't far behind and the four headed for Nooj and Paine's house on Mushroom Rock Road.

XXXXXXX

Rikku hopped an airship ferry to Bevelle and arrived within minutes to the temple. Since practically everyone was still at the stadium in Luca, the homes and businesses seemed all but abandoned save for a few people here and there. Busting through the temple doors, she headed straight for the entrance to the Via Purifico but was blockaded by two Bevellian guards.

"Excuse me, but you're not allowed to enter here." The larger of the two said, blocking the way with his staff. "It's dangerous to go further, and we were instructed to keep all civilians out."

It didn't do him any good warning Rikku and she let him know it. "I was told I was allowed in there, so move it!" She stood defiantly with her hands resting on her hips. "My husband is in there, and I wanna see him!"

"Who is your husband?" The guard asked curiously.

"Gippal Arakaki" Rikku said as she tapped her high heel impatiently on the floor. They walked a few feet away from her to talk it over and check their list between themselves. They returned moments later, moved out of the way and lifted their staffs.

"All right, you could go through." The shorter one said, resuming his position as Rikku thanked them quickly and boarded the lift. The doors closed behind them and it lowered Rikku to the tenth level.

Rikku could feel her heart beating in her chest at the thought of seeing Gippal after a little over a month. She couldn't believe he did what he said he did, and like it or not she was going to find out then and there what the truth was. As she rounded the corner she noticed the new cells they had constructed since her and her friends were in there fighting Trema years ago. It was decided by the Triad that a sort of prison be set up there since there was so much empty space. It also helped being in such a scary area; the incentive of not having to go down there with the fiends and mega Ton Berries made people less likely to want to commit any crimes, lowering the rates considerably in the past three years. After passing about twenty empty cells and a few with occupants she didn't recognize, she was beginning to think she took a wrong turn when she heard a voice that stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Hey."

Her hands began to shake and her legs got weak, and Rikku slowly turned her head to the direction of the voice. At first when she saw Gippal standing by the bars of his cell she didn't recognize him; he had lost some weight, his hair was not spiked up but hung flat against his face, and because of the weight loss his epaulet didn't fit quite right. He wasn't standing straight up; it seemed as if he had trouble even standing at all. Rikku gulped and made her way over to the cell, studying her husband through the bars before acknowledging it was truly him. She placed her hands over his on the bars and gripped his hands tightly, tears instantly coming out of her eyes as she cried in relief.

"That _was_ you I saw!" Rikku exclaimed relieved, squeezing his hands even tighter underneath her own until she saw him cringe a little from the pain. She loosened her grip and chuckled nervously. "Sorry…I'm just…so glad to see you. How are you? Are you hurt? Say something!"

Gippal didn't really react to Rikku standing in front of him; he just stood there staring at her, seemingly unable to say anything. In reality he was just as surprised to see her as she was to be seeing him. His first reaction was to grab her through the bars and kiss or hug her but the words of Slovak's warning reminded him that it wouldn't be such a good idea.

"_Think of something to tell her, to convince her that you were the one responsible for killing Alek and Fajio. If you don't, there are people I have set up here and there, and they won't hesitate to kill her on sight at my command. You got it?"_

"_Yeah."_

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath Gippal released his hands from under Rikku's, stepping away from her; his demeanor changed almost instantly and Rikku looked at him puzzled.

"Gippal? Is something wrong?"

"Why are you here?" He asked coldly.

"What do you mean, why am I here?" She stammered. "Um, I'm here for you…duh! Why wouldn't I be?" Rikku tried to look him in the eye but he kept looking away from her.

Looking at her made him weak- it made him want to gnaw through the bars, grab her and run away, but he knew what would happen if he did. Gippal tried his best to keep a gruff attitude but it wasn't easy, especially around her. He walked to the back of the cell and sat down.

"Listen Rikku, I don't know how to tell you this…" his body began to tremble as the words came out of his mouth like vomit, which was only fitting since he felt like he really _did_ want to throw up. "…but it's…over between us." Gippal watched as Rikku registered the words and shook her head in confusion but he continued. "I guess they all told you what I did, and cuz I'm sure you probably think I couldn't have done such a thing…I'm going to tell you now that what they told you was true." Gippal took a deep breath in and continued to shake, hoping Rikku wouldn't notice.

But she did.

"That's a lie!" Rikku screamed at him in disbelief. "You're lying! I know it- you're just protecting someone! I can see it in your face that you're lying to me, Gippal!" She put a hand over her mouth in shock, and tears continued to fall. "Just tell them it was all a big mistake and we'll go home! Why are you doing this anyway?" Rikku gripped the bars, pleading for him to come to his senses but he still wouldn't look in her direction which began to frustrate her. "Gippal _please…_" she hung her head and brought her voice to a whisper. "_You haven't even considered your daughter."_

He felt like he could shatter into a billion pieces at the last sentence and could feel his control over the situation slipping away. She had a girl- he had a daughter no doubt as pretty as Rikku was. If he didn't compose himself he knew the consequences would be horrible for all of them. Either way he wasn't going to win; he knew what had to be done. Gippal stood back up, approached Rikku from the other side of the bars and finally met her tear filled gaze.

"I'm sorry Rikku, but while I was gone I just realized that I loved being out in that desert…by myself. There was no Faction, no friends, no responsibilities…no you. I could do whatever I wanted to out there. Alek and Fajio were just slowing me down, trying to convince me to come back home to you and live a boring, unhappy life running a Faction I didn't want to be shackled to." He paused, making sure she was still looking at him and continued. "Speaking of shackles…you wouldn't even let me come out to dig! My favorite thing in the world to do and you're so selfish you wanted me to stay home and miss out on all the Gil that's to be made out there." Gippal knew he'd done it when he brought her into the story; he could see she was trying hard not to break down yet again, but she was also growing angrier so he went on. "What am I to you anyway aside from some way for you to get attention? Your cousin was the one that saved the world twice and you were just hanging on, and now that that attention has waned you went for the next best thing. _Me._"

"Gippal shut up!" She said softly, her anger building. "I was pregnant! You should have been the…"

He went on before she could finish the sentence.

"You didn't even talk to me until we met up again in Djose. If I recall _you_ were the one that decided when we were younger that I wasn't good enough for you so you stopped being friends with me. I was a sucker to let you back into my life."

"That's not true…I didn't…" Rikku stammered.

"I thought maybe I could forgive you for treating me like garbage but as I was out there…on my own and I got to think- I loved it…and I never really loved you." Gippal knew he was past the point of no return and there was no going back. He also knew the look on Rikku's face was burned into his brain and would haunt him from then on but he kept going. "I would have killed Slovak, but he was out looking for a place to camp. To throw him off I used the body of a corpse I had found earlier that morning that must've been there since Home was destroyed and dressed him up in my clothes, thinking the three of us were killed."

"_That's when he 'found him' the first time?"_ Rikku thought to herself, trying to make sense of the story but having no luck. She looked back up at him, confused. "This can't be true…you can't mean everything we've been through was…"

"…A lie." He finished the sentence for her. "I just feel bad that there's a kid involved in this now. It's probably not mine anyway."

"You_…MEANIE!" _She screamed; she was so angry but not sure how to get the anger out. Rikku wasn't used to being so mad; her body convulsed, her hands shook, and her nose ran. She couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth and struggled to fathom why someone she thought she knew for so long had decided to turn on her. "Stop doing this to me!" She fell to her knees with her head in her hands. "Why Gippal? Why are you doing this to me? To us? To…Lelah?"

"Just get out of here, Rikku." Gippal said sternly with his back to her. "I'm tired of explaining myself, and I'm tired of looking at your crying, whiny face." In actuality, it was his own tears he didn't want _her_ to see and he wasn't lying when he said he didn't want to see her crying because he hated seeing her cry. The fact that it was his own actions that _caused_ her to cry made it even harder and he needed her to get out of there before she found him out. "Guards! Get this woman out of my sight already! I want to be alone!"

Within minutes two Bevellian guards came and picked an emotional, disheveled Rikku off the floor and began leading her out but she pulled out of their grasp.

"Get off of me!" She snapped, heading straight for Gippal's cell. "I hope you rot in here. How could you do this? Al and Faj loved you like a brother…at least Slovak was able to catch you. Maybe now they'll get to rest in peace." Rikku wiped her face and turned away. "I also hope this was all worth losing your family over. As far as I'm concerned you're still dead and Lelah will never _ever_ know who you are." She ran as fast as her legs could carry her until she disappeared down the hall from Gippal's view.

Gippal, on the other hand, punched at the brick wall with his gloved hand and screamed in pain from the contact. He then slumped into the bench that was in the back of his cell and let out a sigh along with a few tears from his good eye. The guards walked back to their posts and another figure made his way to the bars where Gippal sat.

"Good job."

"Leave me alone." Gippal said angrily, holding his injured hand. "And stay away from Rikku, my daughter and my friends like you promised Slovak."

Slovak laughed heartily, leaning on the bars of Gippal's cell. "I promised I wouldn't have her killed if you did this- I didn't promise I'd stay away from her. Just look at the possibilities I have now. You know how I feel about Rikku, Gippal old buddy." He laughed even harder and Gippal rushed up to grab him but Slovak grabbed his hurt hand and twisted it around, causing Gippal to writhe in pain. "I'm telling you- don't try me. I _will_ have her killed."

"But why go after her if you're just as willing to kill her?"

"Because I want to have some fun for all the times she turned me down for you." Still holding on to Gippal's hand, Slovak shoved the man back across the cell. "It could be _so _fun! I'll be seeing you. Try to keep busy in there." Slovak laughed as he walked away, leaving Gippal in the cell with his thoughts which unfortunately would not stop bringing up images of Slovak taking advantage of Rikku.

"Don't you touch her!" He screamed as loud as he could from the floor of his cell. "I'll kill you myself if you hurt her!! Do you hear me?! Dammit!"


	9. Chapter 9

**hapter 9:**

"Stupid jerk!" Rikku mumbled to herself as she headed back towards the lift that lead up to the temple's surface. She wiped away the last of the tears from her cheeks and eyes trying to compose herself after the meeting she just had with her husband in the cell. "He better have a good explanation for this!" She said, slamming her right fist into her palm. "If he doesn't I'm gonna…"

Before Rikku could finish the sentence, a Lich appeared in front of her, causing her to jump backward and fall on her behind in surprise. "What the?" She exclaimed as it hovered closer. "Since when do Lich's occupy this area?" Rikku reached for her knives, but realized she was still wearing her clothes from the memorial earlier in the morning and cursed herself for not changing. "What can I do? I have no means to fight this thing!" Rikku leapt to her feet and flipped over the creature before it could strike her and she ran as fast as she could down the corridor. It was faster than she was it seemed, catching up to her quickly. Thinking fast, she hopped on one foot, taking off one high heel and then repeating the process with the other. As she ran, Rikku held the shoe heels outward, scraping them against the wall til sharp points formed on them. "I might be able to take it out with these" she said, stopping herself and twirling around to face the Lich head on.

The Lich hovered in place for a few seconds before swooping down to attack, and Rikku countered with her shoe blades. It screeched and backed off from the blow to its face, but didn't look like it had been damaged too much. After a couple of exchanges Rikku realized the Lich was not being affected, and without her garment grid and dress sphere, there was no way she could properly defeat it. The only thing Rikku could do was try to out run it once more, so she turned around, darting away from it.

"At least if I can make it to the lift I could avoid fighting it" She thought, gasping for air as she ran. "This is not…something a woman that just…gave birth two days ago…should be doing!!" Rikku didn't look behind her as the lift came into view and she jumped inside it, pulling the lever to close the door. She could hear the fiend screeching, and its voice faded away the higher she got. Leaning her head back against the wall, Rikku heaved a sigh of relief and caught her breath for a moment. "That was friggin' close!" She thought aloud. "That thing almost…"

Once again Rikku's thoughts were cut off when the Lich reappeared, this time making its way inside the lift by floating through the wall she was leaning against. Rikku screamed, pressing the button to open the door with the heel of one of the shoes and jumped out between the floors. Freefalling down the shaft, she let go of the shoes she held and grabbed for the nearest edge, dangling as she tried to find her bearings. Up above her head she could hear the Lich's screech becoming louder as it fast approached and she reflexively cowered, hoping to at least receive minimal damage. In an instant she heard a POP! and the Lich went silent, bursting into pyre flies as it fell down the shaft.

Rikku lifted her head slowly, looking upwards to see Slovak standing in front of her with a smoking gun in his hand. He dropped the weapon and knelt down beside Rikku, lifting her up to safety. "Are you all right?" He asked, setting her down on the floor. "That was close! That thing was just about to demolish you."

"Thanks for reminding me." Rikku replied dryly, panting heavily as she tried to catch her breath. "And thank you for saving me. I thought I was a goner! What was a Lich doing around here anyway?" She asked, rising to her feet. "And what are you doing here?"

"Damned if I know" Slovak answered as he pulled a canteen off of his belt, handing it to Rikku to drink. "This place gets weirder every time I'm here. As for _why _I'm here…I came to see Gippal."

"Oh" she said, taking a swig from the canteen. "I just saw him myself, and I have to say he's not a good actor."

"Why is that?" Slovak asked curiously as Rikku handed him back his canteen.

"Because he's trying to tell me _he_ was the one that killed Al n' Faj" She said, wiping her mouth "and I know that's bull because he would never hurt either of them. He even tried telling me that _I_ was the one holding him back from digging and that he shouldn't have married me. Ha! What a crock! I mean…right?" Rikku looked over at Slovak who rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably with his hand, not making eye contact with her. "I _am_ right…right? He loves me…he's just protecting me or something…right? Are you at least gonna say something?" She became a little angry, folding her hands to her chest as she waited for Slovak to respond.

"Well…" he began nervously. "That's not entirely false Rikku. When we were on that dig he…" Slovak paused.

"He what?" She asked anxiously. "What did he do or say?"

"He said he liked being out in the desert…and he wanted to go further out but the three of us suggested against it." Slovak paced around the corridor before settling himself by a wall. "I even told him he had you at home and the baby but he…he said he didn't care about that life anymore." He watched as Rikku soaked all the new information in and slumped down against the wall opposite him. "He became violent after that…you know the rest."

"No way." Rikku said softly, her hands shaking. "What about the Faction? What about me? How did he…just act like he cared for me all these years?"

Slovak walked over to where Rikku was and helped her to her feet. "Gippal talked to me about that the night before all of this happened. He said after a while he just got used to lying so it came naturally to him. I found it sick; considering I would have…it doesn't matter. Let's get you home." As he led Rikku to the lift back up to the surface they rode up in silence. Slovak watched as Rikku struggled inward to make sense of everything he had told her. When the doors finally opened Rikku went out first, turning around to face Slovak.

"Thanks…for back there, and thanks for filling me in. Are you going back down to see Gippal?"

"Yeah" he replied, pushing a few buttons on the control panel wall.

"Tell him I said…" She struggled to find the right words. "…Oh forget it." Rikku looked away, heading for the doors but Slovak called to her one more time.

"Hey, you want me to call you sometime? If you want to talk about this some more…but I know you're busy with your daughter and all so…"

"Sure!" She said- a small smile on her face. "I'd like that. See you later!"

Slovak waved and the lift door closed. When he was out of her sight he pushed the lift doors back open and stepped out, laughing to himself.

"That was too easy!"


	10. Chapter 10

_Really quick- sorry for taking so long with this. I've been going through some things the past few months_. _If it means anything I am still very interested in this story and my writing so I won't leave this fic unfinished no matter what. If it has been too long since last I wrote I won't begrudge anyone who wants to leave this be. I surely understand. If this helps... Last we left off, Gippal told Rikku he was guilty of murdering Alek and Fajio and didn't want anything to do with her or their daughter. She is now at Paine and Nooj's house after leaving Bevelle to talk to her friends about it._

**Chapter 10:**

"I'm going to knock that man a new one! Just get me to that prison and I'll kick his ass!" Paine said angrily, after hearing Rikku's account of what happened between her and Gippal in the Via Purifico prison. "How could he say such things to you after all you've been through? Has he officially lost his mind?" She threw her hands up in the air and paced around her living room furniture. Nooj met her halfway between the sofa and loveseat, halting her in her tracks.

"Paine, you need to calm down." He said sternly, grabbing his wife by the shoulders and meeting her gaze. "Your stomping around our living room is not going to solve anything." Nooj looked over at Rikku who was sitting beside Yuna on the sofa. "Whatever is going on with Gippal we will get to the bottom of it, all right Rikku?"

She nodded.

"The main thing we need to focus on here is motive." He declared while guiding Paine to the loveseat and plopping her onto it. "So far the only thing we know is that he, quote-unquote _wanted_ to be free of his responsibilities as husband, father and Faction leader. Now tell me, does this make any sense to any of you?" Nooj sat himself next to Paine while the others contemplated what he had just said.

"No it doesn't." Baralai agreed, shifting in his seat across from Rikku and Yuna. "It's entirely out of character for him. Why not call on us for help?"

"Come on you two!" Nooj said to Paine and Baralai "We know Gippal well enough to know that he wouldn't put any of us in harm's way at his expense no matter how selfish he can be at times."

"Your point?" Paine asked a little confused.

"Why would he tell Rikku- who is the father of his only child what kind of situation he is in? If anything I am willing to bank that he said what he did to her on purpose just to keep her away." Nooj was still getting cross looks from his former comrades and put a hand to his face, sighing in frustration. "No one in this world knows Rikku inside out more than Gippal does, and knowing that he knows how sensitive she is, he probably used that to his advantage to try to make her hate him so she would stay away…"

"…And be safe!" Yuna interrupted, rising from her seat. "It makes sense! Rikku he obviously didn't mean what he said to you!"

"I coulda told you that." Rikku said sourly, rolling her eyes. "You guys forget that not only does Gippal know me- but I know him too, and I know he's lying! He has to be…but." She looked down at the floor, switching the positions of her feet where she sat. "…but I can't help but think about what Slovak said. It kinda counters that scenario, you know? So what am I supposed to believe?"

"Slovak could be lying." Paine answered bluntly, running a hand through her short pewter hair. "You trust him, Rikku?"

She gave Paine a puzzled look and smiled. "Gippal and I have known Slovy all our lives. The three of us were inseparable when we were younger. He's got no reason to lie to me or be mean. If anything Slovy's just as confused about the situation as we are."

"But are you sure the relationship you have with him is still in tact after all these years? You sure he's not jealous of you two or anything?" Nooj asked curiously.

"Slovy's not like that. He's never once said anything harsh to either of us ever. I really think you're barking up the wrong tree with that one. He just wants what's best for everyone." Rikku looked up at the wall, noticing it had gotten late. "I gotta get going; it's almost time for Lelah's next feeding and I want to do it at home so she could go to sleep afterwards. Thanks guys for picking her up from Pop's for me. You saved me a trip!"

"No problem" Baralai said, rising to his feet and making his way over to Yuna. "Yuna I think we should get going as well. I want to see Adlain before he gets tucked in, and Lulu must be tired chasing him around along with Vidina." He helped his wife up off the couch and she hugged her cousin.

"Bye everyone!" Rikku waved, heading out the door. Paine made sure she made it safely to her hover and turned to her friends.

"She's not serious is she? You know, about trusting that Slovak guy?" Paine asked worriedly. "There's something about him...I can't say what exactly."

"I know- I feel the same as you." Nooj agreed, still sitting on the loveseat. "I think you, Baralai and I should go to the VP and visit Gippal ourselves."

"But Slovak said we can't see him!" Paine said, seating herself back next to Nooj.

Baralai walked over to where the two were sitting and rested his hands against the back of the couch. "We don't need his permission to do anything!"

"But Slovak said it would be a 'conflict of interest' if we were to talk to him. That's why we can't see him." Nooj noted. "So what can you do? Especially since he has Al-Bhed guards watching that floor of the prison."

"Sure there are guards, but I know all the shortcuts and secret passageways, remember? I _am_ the acting Praetor after all, aren't I?" Baralai and Yuna headed towards the front door. "We should go down there when it's late and no one could see us"

"Or preferably when Slovak's not there." Nooj countered, rising up to say goodbye to his guests. "Once we figure out where he's going to be other than the VP we can make our way there. Baralai, once you find out let us know and Paine and I will meet you at the Temple."

"But how am I supposed to find out where he is?" Baralai asked, opening the door. Yuna chimed in.

"I could! Rikku said something about seeing Slovak to talk to him. I could find out and call you both right away!!" She headed outside, waving to Nooj and Paine. "We'll be in touch guys! Have a good night!"

"Sounds like a plan, Yuna." Nooj nodded. "Good night."

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Rikku pulled up to her house in Djose, parking along the curb. She was exhausted, shoeless, filthy, and the dress she was wearing looked like a pack of wild chocobos trampled over her. The first thing Rikku wanted to do after feeding Lelah and putting her to bed was grab a nice, hot bath complete with bubbles and candles. Picking the carrier up out of the hover, she made her way up the walkway with Lelah in tow, not paying much attention to anything around her. It was dark and starry, and most of the lights on the street were out due to the late hour. Just as she made it to her front door, Rikku put Lelah's carrier on the ground and began fumbling for her keys. She was just about to click the lock when she felt a presence behind her and someone clearing their throat.

When she turned around she found there was a woman standing behind her.

"Oh gosh, you startled me, Jilda!" Rikku said, quite surprised. "What are you doing out so late?" She must have been too tired to notice, but Jilda was not particularly happy to see her. "Is something the matter?"

The curly blonde haired woman folded her arms and pursed her lips. "My husband is dead because _your_ husband killed him." Jilda stated angrily in Al-Bhed. "I had to tell my little girl that her father is on the Far plane and won't ever come home again. _You _tell _me_…do you think something's the matter?"

Rikku felt nervous; her heart pounded in her chest and she found it hard to catch her breath. "Now Jilda…"

"Don't you 'now Jilda' me!" She screamed; her voice echoing into the quiet night. "How could he do this to Alek? They were supposed to be best friends! Alek would have followed Gippal to the ends of Spira if he'd asked him, and _this_ is what he does in return?"

"Jilda, you don't understand…he…" Rikku tried to explain, but the woman wasn't listening.

"I hope Slovak gives him the highest penalty for killing my husband and Fajio! If he walks I'll do something to him myself!"

At this point Lelah had become frightened from all of the shouting and began to cry. Something inside Rikku snapped at that point either from exhaustion or the fact that her baby was upset. "_Now you listen to me!_" Rikku screamed back, causing Lelah to cry louder. "How _DARE_ you come to _MY_ house and scream at _ME_ when I happened to have just as much of a horrible day as you did!" She pushed Jilda away from her with her index finger, and the woman took a step backwards. "I am well aware of what Gippal has claimed to have done! I am currently working on a way to find out the truth about the deaths of Alek and Fajio so in the meantime, .ALONE!" And with that Rikku opened her door, picked up Lelah, walked inside and slammed the door shut in Jilda's face. She could hear the woman continue to scream in Al-Bhed at her on the other end, something about her not hearing the last of her as she stomped away. "Forget that bath!" Rikku said angrily to herself while rocking her screaming child. "If I take it now I'm gonna drown myself!"

Meanwhile, Jilda made her way down Rikku's walkway and rounded the corner where someone was waiting for her by a hover van. Pursing his lips on a cigarette, he opened the door to let her inside. "So how did it go?"

"You know," the woman said dejected as she sat down and closed the door. "It didn't feel as good as I thought it would."

"Why is that?" He asked, revving the engine, pulling away towards Mushroom Rock Road.

"Because she just looked so pathetic and disheveled." Jilda sighed and looked out the window, seeing her house approaching on the right. "What if Gippal didn't do it?"

The man grew annoyed, and blowing smoke out of his mouth he turned to his passenger. "Are you saying I'm lying? That I didn't see him with my own eyes, Jilda? Because that's what I'm getting from you here." He watched as she sighed again, stole another glance out the window and back to face him.

"No."

"Good." He pulled into her driveway and unlocked the door for her. "Goodnight Jilda"

"'night Slovak" She replied, closing the hover's door and hurrying to her house as he pulled out of her driveway and drove off of her block.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

_A week later, Bevelle Temple  
_

Baralai sat at his desk looking at the papers for the day, or rather- _pretending _to look at them. His mind was anywhere those papers weren't; Gippal was about ten floors beneath him in a cell, accused of killing two people in cold blood while his wife and child sat at home wondering his fate. Baralai wanted to see him so badly- to hear with his own ears his best friend tell him he actually did kill them and that he didn't want anything more to do with Rikku. He just couldn't believe it even though he knew Rikku wouldn't make up such a thing.

Baralai promised Nooj and Paine he would wait until he got some kind of word that Slovak would not be coming around to watch over his suspect before he went to see him in secret. He loathed the idea of having to follow someone else's orders in the very temple _he_ was in charge of, but he understood; Gippal was his best friend, and it just wouldn't seem fair to Alek and Fajio's families if he seemed to cater to a possible killer. Putting the paper he was not reading back on the desk, Baralai looked out into the hallway and noticed two Al-Bhed men talking in their language down the hall.

Curious about them, Baralai stood up and approached the doorway, but not before grabbing the papers he had just put down to stare at them again, this time to make the two men think he wasn't paying attention. They took one glance in his direction, smirked and carried on with their conversation. It seemed they figured Baralai couldn't understand them anyway, but little did they know not only did he learn some basics from Gippal during their squad days, his wife Yuna taught him what she knew as well.

The one said to the other- "It must be killing him not to go down and see Gippal."

"Yeah" the other one replied with a grin. "Slovak doesn't want him or the others interfering. At least he has enough sense not to go down there even though Slovak won't be around today. He has other business to take care of."

As the two changed the conversation to lunch and headed out of the temple, Baralai pulled out his pocket sphere and dialed Nooj and Paine's home. The screen focused in on Paine and she smiled. "Hey. You have any news?"

"I do." he replied quietly so no one would hear. "Slovaks not going to be around today. How soon could you and Nooj get down here?"

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**Meanwhile in Djose:**

Rikku finished giving Lelah her morning bottle and put her back into her bassinet, thankful she was as small as she was and needing as much rest as possible. Despite her waking up every two hours Rikku loved the breaks in between, but all it did was leave her with her thoughts, and they usually consisted of Gippal, his face, smile, and the harsh words he had for her. Grabbing her cup of coffee from the kitchen counter Rikku made her way to the couch and plopped down on it, sinking into the cushions. Before she could get comfortable though, there was a knock on her front door.

"I appreciate all this concern but it's getting' kinda old." she muttered to herself as she unlocked the door and opened it. To her surprise, Slovak stood in front of her with a box of donuts and flowers.

"Good morning!" He said crudely, shoving the box and flowers into Rikku's arms and pushing his way in.

"Why don't you come in…?" Rikku said annoyed, trying not to drop either the box or flowers. Setting them down onto the coffee table she sat down across from her guest. "What's this all about, Slovak?"

"Well we can't put this off any longer so I thought I'd cut through all of the wooing and get right to the banging." He continued to be short with her and smacked his lips.

"Um. Ew. Er… I'm afraid I'm not following."

"I've waited for as long as I could, Rikku, and the truth is your husband killed people and is awaiting punishment." Slovak crossed his legs and leaned back into the sofa, making himself more comfortable as Rikku watched in shock. "They're waiting on me since I was a witness to give the go ahead with the execution but because he's my friend I'm willing to make a deal to spare him." He paused. "For a price."

The lump in Rikku's throat felt like a blitz ball, and she didn't like what Slovak was implying but she was just so surprised and couldn't say anything in response as he continued.

"I'll tell them not to execute Gippal- to leave him in a cell down in Bevelle for the rest of his life as long as you agree to leave him and be with me."

Rikku gasped for air and rose to her feet. She pointed to the door and ordered him to leave. "Get out of here! Ya got some nerve trying to ask me to do something so stupid!"

"Really? You really think this is stupid?" He quipped, rising out of the chair, towering over her. "So you're saying you're willing to see Gippal get killed? For something he possibly didn't do?" As he walked away towards the door he turned around to face her once more. "That's fine by me. Once he's dead I'll still be second in charge for the Triad whether or not you're with me." He was met with a confused look from Rikku so he decided to fill her in. "Yep. Once he's dead that strips you of any rights you'd have in the Triad since he was the one in charge of the Faction. "Princess" or not, you're out. Besides, you have your hands too full with your daughter and everyone knows what a mess you are these days." Slovak reveled in watching her face sink and body slump in defeat. "At least if he's alive you could go visit him…that is, if he still even _wants _to see you."

"He only said those things to protect me!" Rikku screamed, startling Lelah and making her cry. "He won't agree to any of this! You're not being fair here." She went over to the bassinet and picked up her frantic daughter, trying to calm her down.

"Oh I think he'll be fine with it." Slovak insisted, following Rikku over to the bassinet and continuing to hover. " I highly doubt Gippal wants to die, and if he knew you wanted to save him he wouldn't object. Besides, I think he'd rather you were with one of his "oldest friends" than some jerk off the street. Think about it, but don't waste too much time. I'm not going to prolong this for much longer. Oh and one more thing- don't tell your friends about this- if you do you have to make it seem like it was _your_ decision and you weren't forced. If I find out you told them I'll have him shot on the spot."

Without another word Slovak left Rikku standing in the middle of her living room with Lelah still crying in her arms. She felt like she had been hit by a hover and let herself fall into the couch. The tears fell afterward.

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_**Back in Bevelle**_

Paine and Nooj met up with Baralai in the main corridor. "So, where do we go to see Gippal?" Paine asked, rubbing her hands together in anticipation.

"Yes! This way guys. We're going to go to my office." Baralai replied and the three made their way back to Baralai's chambers. Once inside, the praetor closed the door behind them, locked it and headed towards the bookshelf behind his desk. Pulling on one of the books made the shelf come out towards them revealing a narrow stairway.

"Now this is going to take a while, but it'll get us to his cell. It is connected to every cell in the Purifico. Only myself and the old Maesters knew about this so Slovak won't be able to find us. Shall we?"

"This is just like out of one of those cheap spy novels they sell at Rin's shop. Then again I'm not too surprised it's here...this is Yevon we're dealing with. Anyway, After you." Nooj said, motioning for Baralai to go first, and the three headed slowly down the staircase.

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Gippal sat on his cell bed, staring off into space. It had been a few days since he'd been down there and no one had come by since Rikku stormed off and Slovak taunted him. He missed Rikku and hated that he was so mean to her but he knew she would stay away and be safe, or at least he hoped so. At least he was clean and received food every few hours; the setup he had at the moment was definitely better than in that dark cave Slovak had him in. The bruises from the shackles on his wrists and ankles had begun to fade and he was feeling a little stronger than before.

He reclined onto his pillow, put his hands behind his head and began to think about his daughter, wondering how she was and who she resembled. Those thoughts always brought him back to when he and Rikku had their talk in the kitchen just before he went out on the dig that got him into the mess he was currently in. Gippal hated that he didn't just stay home like Rikku begged him to and promised himself he wouldn't be so stubborn in the future.

…that is, if he even had a future at that point. For the next half hour or so Gippal drifted in and out of consciousness; sleep was not something he got lately so when it came he had to give in and let himself sleep. It was then that he heard a tap on the wall to his back left and it startled him but when he looked over he saw nothing. He closed his eyes once more and drifted back off but the sound grew louder and it caused him to rise quickly from his bed. Walking over to the wall, Gippal placed his hand on the concrete surface and pounded it lightly with his fist. When nothing happened he tried again, but the wall quickly came out towards him and he fell backward on his behind. Looking up he was surprised at who he saw standing before him.

"It took you guys long enough to get here." He huffed, rising to his feet and crossing his arms defiantly. Gippal looked from side to side to see if anyone was around and faced his friends again. "I was about to give up on y…"

He was stopped in mid sentence by a blow to his face by Paine's fist, knocking him back onto the floor. Startled, he asked "What was that for?"

"I told her not to do that, but you know how she listens…" Nooj said, hobbling over towards Gippal's bed to sit himself down. "You look well. How are you holding up?"

Gippal wiped a trickle of blood from his lower lip with the back of his bare hand and stood back up again. "Well I _was_ fine til your wife cold cocked me. Shouldn't you have her on a leash or something?" As Paine headed back towards him with her fist raised Gippal raised his own hands in defense. "I was kidding! Jeez, Dr. P what is your deal?"

"I just need to know…" She said, standing in front of him, her eyes looking Gippal over with steel intent. "Did you really mean what you said to Rikku?" Paine continued to stare him down as she waited for his response.

Gippal slouched but didn't lose eye contact when he spoke to her.

"Of course I didn't, but you have to keep her away from me, so if she believes it then don't do anything to change that." He put a hand to the back of his neck and smiled for the first time in a long time. "You're looking good there, Dr. P. I'm glad motherhood hasn't dulled your combat senses or fists." He gave a small chuckle and Paine took him by surprise again by wrapping her arms around him; tears made their way out of her eyes as she dug her head into his shoulder. "You act like we haven't seen each other in ages! What's up with that?"

"It _has _been too long for us, Gippal." Baralai said, approaching them from the right, placing his hand to Paine's back and rubbing it gently as she cried. "We really need to work on getting you out of here."

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_A/N: I'm gonna end the chapter because it was getting out of hand. Thanks to those still reading, and sorry for taking so damn long. It's been hard wanting to write, especially after losing a great friend in the FFNET community. Ikonopeiston, I miss you. _


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

"_We really need to work on getting you out of here." _

Gippal took a long look at his three closest friends standing before him in his cell; guilt swept over him for making them worry and stress out about his well being for the past month as well as the past few days. He was very happy to see them, but he did not want them getting involved with this. Gippal also knew there was very little he could do to stop them but he felt like he had to try.

"You guys are gonna haveta let me get out of this one myself." He warned, striding towards the front of his cell to take another look down the hallway to see if Slovak was coming. "You guys are risking a lot by seeing me. You should go."

"Slovak's not around." Baralai said, playing with one of his belled sleeves absentmindedly. "I overheard two al-bheds talking by my office, mentioning that he had other business to tend to. We have some time at least for now."

"Yeah..." Gippal said with a snort. "Rikku's his business." He rolled his one good eye and scowled.

The others seemed surprised by his remark, especially Paine whose eyes widened with Gippal's last sentence. "What do you mean by that?" She sat next to Nooj and buried her face in her hands while he put his arm around her. "I mean...we knew he was after something, but we weren't a hundred percent sure."

"I don't know what it is either." Gippal said, his voice uncertain as he ran a hand through his hair. "All I know is I have to cooperate here or else it's worse for her." he paused and approached Baralai. "Don't worry about me. Make sure she and Lelah are safe while I can't in here." there was a hint of regret in his tone. "If I didn't go out on that dig none of this would have happened."

"You can't erase the past, Gippal." Nooj said, standing up from the cot. "and even if you didn't go out on that dig something tells me he would have gotten you on the next one or the one after that. He seems to have issues that have only begun to rear their ugly heads."

Gippal knew he was right, and felt a little comforted by Nooj's words. "Thanks. Whatever Slovak decides for me...if I live the rest of my life in this cell or if I'm gonna be executed you have to know I wasn't responsible for Alek and Faj." He rested his arms on the bars of his cell and lowered his head, obviously still saddened by their deaths. "The only thing I can do now is bide my time."

"We knew that, but who _did_ kill them?" Paine asked as Baralai went to reopen the door they had come out of.

"I can't tell you, but I _can _tell you it _wasn't_ Slovak..." Gippal said, rising from his position to meet the three of them as they were readying to leave. "And I'm not going to tell you to try to find a way to get him to admit it in case he has a camera watching my every move and word I say."

"You can't stay here while he...I mean, _someone else_ goes free! It's not fair." Paine said angrily. "You guys can appeal to the towns, can't you? You're supposed to be governors of Spira..."

Nooj looked to Paine, who seemed to be struggling inward with the things she had heard and tried to reason with her. "We are not allowed to interfere, remember? If we do it just makes us seem like we're choosing our friend, and while we know he's innocent there are still two men dead and all evidence points to him." He reached for her hand and caressed her fingers in his. "He has to stay here until we can figure something out topside, you understand?" Nooj released her hand and headed behind Baralai.

She nodded, knowing he was right, but knitted her brows in disapproval. "It doesn't mean I like it. Who knows how much time we have?"

Baralai put a hand to Gippal's shoulder and smiled. "I know, and that's why you have to stay alive till then, won't you?" He let go and entered the stairwell, beginning the ascent back to his office.

"Of course! I'm _Gippal_ guys...I won't die. I'm too cool." He laughed uneasily, winking his eye.

Nooj saluted Gippal with two fingers and nodded his head, holding the door open after Baralai. "Don't do anything stupid, like get yourself killed." Gippal nodded back and watched Nooj as he limped into the darkness to catch up with Baralai.

That left Paine and Gippal behind together. Gippal grinned and opened his arms; he knew she would not have volunteered herself but could see she was hurting badly about having to leave him. Paine opened her own arms, embracing her friend, squeezing as tightly as she could. Almost too tightly in fact as Gippal began to gasp for air.

"Er, Dr. P...choking here..." He said between breaths, but it was mostly just jokingly and he didn't want her to leave with regrets. "Like I said before....please don't worry about me..." Gippal said, sounding more serious than he ever did around the former warrior. "Just keep Rikku safe."

"I will." She promised through tears, wiping them away with her gloved hand. "Oh, and tell anyone I was crying and I'll kick your ass." Paine warned, pulling away but not before kissing Gippal on the cheek. "Take care of yourself." and with that she left, closing the door behind her.

And he was alone once again, but he was thankful to have them on his side and thought maybe he would sleep a little easier that night, but like always, as soon as he rested his head on the cot's pillow his thoughts did their automatic u-turn right to Rikku, his daughter, and the possibility of Slovak being at his house at that very moment, killing any chances at a good nights' rest.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

_**The other side of Djose; Jilda's house**_

Jilda sat at her kitchen table; a mug of steaming hot coffee encased in her small, porcelain hands. It was another difficult morning for her, as was every morning since her husband Alek was killed and possibly by his own best friend. Feeling a little braver than usual, Jilda rose from her seat and headed into the living room and over to the fireplace. Perched on top of it were various photos of Alek, herself, and of Gippal and Faj from happier times. Letters from fellow Al-bheds expressing their sympathies for her loss were arranged between them like the beads between the rubies in the necklace she wore. She let a finger caress the top of a frame with Alek's picture inside it as she struggled to remember what he smelled like and how he sounded. Sighing heavily, a few tears slid from her eyes and she looked down, noticing several news spheres in a box covering the events of that horrible day and she picked one up.

Clicking it on, she saw Shelinda, with microphone in hand, standing at the beginning of the Bikanel desert. She spoke of the tragedy and the events that happened at the memorial service for all of the men after it was revealed that Gippal was in fact alive and admitted to killing Alek and Faj. Clicking the sphere off after Shelinda began on another news story of that day, Jilda began recalling a conversation she had with Slovak just about a week before- a little after the time she yelled at Rikku on that cold Djose evening.

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_**One week ago, in Slovak's hover. Jilda agreed to meet with him again, although she was a bit reluctant to**._

_"You should go back over to Rikku's tomorrow or something, Jilda. You can't let her think you're actually OK with the possibility of Gippal getting set free." Slovak advised her as he parked his hover in front of her house after having lunch together. He took a drag of his cigarette, and exhaled out of his open window. Jilda looked at him with an uncertain look, which seemed to annoy him. "What? don't tell me you're starting to get soft on me? You mean to tell me you ARE just willing to let Gippal off the hook for all this?"_

_Jilda shifted uncomfortably in her seat, a little frightened by Slovak's harsh tone. "N...no." she stammered, not making eye contact. "It's just that...something is off about this whole thing. I really don't think he did it."_

_Her response seemed to anger him further. Slovak took the cigarette out of his mouth, chucked it out the window, and slammed his fist angrily onto the steering wheel. "Dammit Jilda!" he screamed, his nostrils flaring. "I didn't go through all this trouble to get where I am right now to have you start having doubts about this!" Slovak said nothing further, giving her a guilty look but Jilda didn't seem to notice. Instead, she left the car, ignored the curses he muttered to her and headed to her front door._

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Jilda snapped out of her recollection, focusing on what Slovak had said to her.

_"I didn't go through all this trouble to get where I am right now to have you start having doubts about this!" _

"I wonder what he meant by that?" She asked herself as she walked back towards the fireplace. Jilda took a seat on a rocker that was settled next to the box of news spheres and put the box onto her lap. As she rooted through them, re-watching each one, she studied Slovak's every move, the things he had said, and body language. It had become clear to her that Gippal really wasn't the one to blame in all this; that someone else was behind it all, and Slovak's image popped up into her head every time.

In that instant, she began recalling several times Alek used to mention Slovak and his jealousy towards Gippal and Rikku for being together and having what he described as "the perfect life". There were many dinners when her husband would tell her of the countless times he'd be out drinking with Slovak only to have him tell him in a drunken state how much he loved Rikku and felt scorned by her rejection all those years ago, and that one day _"Ol' Gippy and his wife are gonna pay for what they'd done ta me."_

At the time, Alek usually blew Slovak off- saying that he was just drunk and didn't really have what it took to actually act upon his actions. Well, that and Slovak never brought it up the next day so Alek never did either. Jilda set the box back onto the floor and rose to her feet. Picking up a picture of Alek, she spoke to it.

"I think you may have been wrong about Slovak." She said sternly to the frame as fear gripped her body, making her tremble a little. "There's got to be something I could do to try to stop them from hurting Gippal." Jilda placed the picture back onto the mantelpiece and grabbed her keys. As she shut the front door behind her and locked it, a voice called her name from the side of the house. Jilda let out a shrill scream.

"Y...YOU!" she said surprised, collapsing to her knees. "What are you doing here?!"

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Rikku paced the edge of the Moonflow nervously as she waited for Slovak to arrive. She told him she wanted to meet him there as early as possible to talk about the proposal he had laid out before her a few days ago. After thinking it over for a couple of days, the only solution she could come up with was agreeing to divorce Gippal and be with Slovak forever. She knew it wouldn't be what her husband would want, but she didn't feel like she had the choice, for if she told Slovak no he would have Gippal tried and killed, and at least if he were still alive in the Purifico prison she could take Lelah to visit him when she was old enough, rather than take her to the Farplane to scramble memories of his image.

She plopped onto a bench, rocking Lelah's hover stroller as she stared out into the murky water. Moments between herself and Gippal flashed across the sky like movie reels: The first time they met on a dig with their fathers when they were children, learning how to assemble and disassemble machina together, how he was there for her when her mother passed away, and to later when she was there for him when his own mother died...that was the night Gippal confessed his feelings for her and she revealed she felt the same way. She also recalled their wedding, the day she hopped onto their bed and told him she was pregnant, and unfortunately, the meeting in the Purifico. Suddenly her memories faded, and she felt a twinge in her heart at the words he had so coldly said to her, causing her to frown.

"Why the long face?" A voice behind her asked, startling her at first before she realized it was Slovak.

"It's nothing." She replied, shaking off the thoughts immediately. "Thanks for coming."

"No need to thank me." Slovak said smugly. "_I'm_ the one that should be thanking _you _actually." He couldn't fight the grin that slowly took over both sides of his face. Slovak was loving every minute of this and it just angered Rikku that much more.

"Shut it, Slovak." Rikku said through gritted teeth. "Don't think this is gonna change my feelings for you. I'm only doing this so my daughter could still see her father when she grows up." She gripped the handles of the hover stroller and began walking back towards Djose. Slovak kept up with her stride and seized her arm, jerking her towards him.

"Don't make this harder on yourself than it has to be, Rikku. Or should I say...don't make this any harder on _Gippal_." He grinned again as her body went from tense to limp at those words. "That's right. If you just do as I say, he doesn't get hurt."

"Fine. Are we done here?" She asked, sighing in defeat. "I gotta get home and feed her. Just tell me what you want me to do." and she began walking again. Slovak followed behind her.

"Tomorrow we go to the Purifico prison and tell Gippal you're done with him, and it better be convincing." He turned around to head back to his hover. "Remember...any funny business and you'll be sorry." As he jumped into his hover and drove off, Rikku kicked a stray rock on the road with her boot, cursing the whole damn mess she had gotten herself into.


	14. Chapter 14

Just a quick note- there is probably some more OOC-ness in this chapter, but then again, this fic _ IS_ Au, so I'm thinking that's to be expected.

**Chapter 14:**

_The Next Evening:_

Rikku stood before her bedroom mirror; the reflection revealed someone she hardly even recognized anymore. "What's happened to me?" She asked sadly to her other self. Her hair was down and the makeup that once covered her eyes was replaced with bags under them instead that were large enough to take her around Spira several times over. "How did everything get so out of whack anyway?"

Rikku pulled her heap of hair up into a ponytail and began braiding- throwing the random sections upwards before putting her headband on. She then grabbed the mascara and eyeliner, putting the color back into her face. The final touch was the foundation, and she did her best to cover the bags as she possibly could. There was no way she was going to let her appearance deceive her in front of Gippal as she tried to convince him she was fine and no longer needed him. It was bad enough he wasn't going to believe her anyway- if he saw her face and how tired it looked he would worry for her more, and she didn't want that.

As she slid out of her towel and into her thief gear, she heard Lelah fussing as she lie on top of Rikku's bed. Walking over to her, she picked her daughter up and nuzzled her little face. "You're the only good thing about this whole darn mess!" Rikku said lovingly to Lelah, making the little one smile. "You make sure you're extra good for cousin Yunie tonight! I'll come by first thing in the morning to pick you up and give you tons of kisses!" Lelah squealed as Rikku threw her up and carried her out of the bedroom. They headed out the door and into Rikku's hover, ready to head over to Yuna and Baralai's house.

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_**Meanwhile, in Bevelle Temple: Ten floors down into the Via Purifico Prison**_

Slovak strolled the cell halls like a proud peacock. Everything was going according to his plan: Rikku was his, Gippal was stepping down as Faction leader and Triad Member, and all of the Al-bhed people would have to answer to him. There was nothing that could wipe the smile he had plastered onto his face, and he was heading towards Gippal's cell to rub it all in his face. As he approached he took a moment to watch his prisoner from afar. He looked a little stronger, a bit healthier, and almost broken.

_Almost was not good enough._

Once Gippal noticed Slovak's presence he quickly tensed up and rose to his feet. It had been too long since he was graced with a visit and figured it must be important. Gippal met him at the bars and crossed his arms in defiance. "What do you want?" He asked angrily.

"Now now, Gippy." Slovak warned, lighting a fresh cigarette. "That is no way to talk to someone who holds your life in his hands."

"You're only here because you want something…quit playin' your games and spit it out already." Gippal didn't take his eye off Slovak for a second. He was tired of being at his mercy and no longer afraid of his tricks.

"I see being in here has toughened you up a bit, eh?" Slovak laughed, taking a drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke in Gippal's direction. "Okay, I like how you think so I'll get right to it. Remember our deal? You step down from the Faction and Triad, Rikku doesn't get killed, and I lessen the death sentence to life in the Purifico prison instead. So what do you say?"

Gippal knew he had no choice; he wanted Rikku and his daughter safe, and at least he would still be alive to possibly see him. That is- if they even wanted to after what he had said to her. He knew his friends would look after her and Lelah like they had promised; at least he had them to count on and it brought him some comfort. He sighed, slumped into the bars as he had done so many times before and shook his head.

"Yeah. You got it. Just leave them alone."

"As for leaving them alone...I'm afraid I can't really do that." Slovak announced, and footsteps approached. Gippal's head shot up. He saw Rikku standing beside him and his heart rose, making him smile.

"Rikku!" Gippal said, relieved she was still all right, although he could tell she wasn't her usual bright self no matter how hard he knew she had tried to make herself not appear so. He was glad she was down there, at first afraid she was still genuinely mad at him. Ignoring Slovak, Gippal shot out questions to his wife. "Why are you here? Is everything all right?" He noticed no sign of his daughter. "Where's Lelah?"

Rikku gulped, realizing that this was going to be harder for her than she had originally thought. He had looked so much better to her than the last time she was there. His eye was silently pleading for some sort of explanation and she wanted nothing more than to try to fight Slovak and save him, but she knew he always had someone watching. Instead she stiffened, and her face turned expressionless. "I'm sorry, Gippal." Was all she could say, and barely so; her voice was low and shaky.

"What for? Why are you sorry? What's going on here?" Gippal tried his best not to freak out. He refused to let Slovak know he got the best of him but it was no use. He looked at Rikku with concern, and gave a nasty glare to Slovak. "Tell me Slovak...what's going on!!" Gippal demanded, gripping the cell bars angrily. Slovak put his arm around Rikku and she flinched at first, but when he squeezed her shoulder slightly she shot back up, receiving the arm.

"Seems your childhood love and I have gotten pretty close these past few weeks." Slovak started with a smile. "She has decided that _I _was the one she should have been with all along." He nudged Rikku, who could do nothing but stare at Gippal as she watched his face crumble.

"It…It's true." Rikku said, barely able to contain herself. Feeling Slovak's eyes staring through her and the words he said to her the night before

"_And it better be convincing…"_

Rikku gained her composure, looked her Gippal right in the eye and lied.

"Like I said, it's true. Slovy comforted me after you practically wrote me off. Now at least you can be free like you wanted and never have to be bothered by me anymore."

Gippal stared at her blankly for a few moments before nervously laughing what she had just said off. "Rikku…you don't have to do this, you know. I'm gonna be all right." He reached his hand out to her through the bars and almost caught hers, but Slovak pulled her away. "Whatever he's telling you…don't do this, please…"

"I'm not _doing_ anything I don't want to, Gippal." She said as mean as she could, hoping Slovak would be convinced as he wanted. "After all you had said to me, it makes sense. I guess I really _was_ being selfish and starved for attention like you said. You were right; you were the only one that wanted to give me any attention and I used it…I used _you_." Gippal shook his head, unable to believe anything she was saying. Slovak, on the other hand, watched Rikku with a sickening glee as she delivered blow after blow.

He knew his wife; he knew she didn't mean what she was saying- that she was being forced to, but he figured he wouldn't be able to get through to her, especially with Slovak standing so close by. Still, it didn't make anything she had just said any easier to swallow and he put his hands back onto the bars as he looked Rikku dead in her eyes.

She didn't think his face could change anymore than it already had, but she was sorely mistaken. Gippal's body shook, his hands gripped the bars tighter, and blood trickled from his palms. Releasing them, he turned around and faced the walls of his cell.

"Please leave." He said through clenched teeth, his fists squeezed tightly shut at his sides. "Just leave me alone…both of you. And never come down here ever again."

The two stood silently; Slovak once again couldn't contain the smile that was forming across his smug face. It was all Rikku could do to keep herself from crying. "Come on, Rikku. Let's go." He grabbed her arm and led her away from the cell; Gippal could hear their footsteps grow fainter until they eventually disappeared. Once he knew they were safely out of his earshot he screamed in frustration, collapsed to the cell floor and cried…

…or at least he thought they were out of earshot. Rikku heard the scream, and she was no longer able to control her own emotions and found herself crying once again. Slovak just gripped her arm tighter and forced her forward. "Way to go, Rikku. I didn't think you had it in you. I'm impressed!"

"Just shut up, Slovak. Now you keep your end of the deal." She wiped her eyes with the back of her free hand. "You promised."

"Of course." He replied, and they entered the glyph, raising them up towards the surface.

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Gippal didn't leave his position on the floor for what seemed like forever. The thought of losing Rikku, his family, his position not only to the Faction but also the Triad deemed his body paralyzed. He knew he had also let his closest friends down, and didn't see any way out of his situation.

"What on Spira am I supposed to do now?" He asked no one, or at least again he thought he was alone. Gippal sensed a presence behind him, and before he turned around he heard a voice say to him:

"The Gippal I know wouldn't give everything up so damn easy."

The Al-Bhed's eyes widened at the sound of the voice, and turned around to confirm it. Gippal leapt to his feet and approached the bars to the source of it.

"What the..." Gippal said, tears re-emerging from his one good eye. "How'd you get past Slovak and his guards?"

"There's no time for that now." The person replied urgently. "We have a plan to get you out of here. Let me tell you what I know…"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

After they left the temple, Rikku and Slovak parted ways. Although they hadn't done anything of a physical, more intimate nature, Rikku still felt like a common street walker after what happened at Gippal's cell. Since Lelah was at her cousin's house, the al-bhed decided to take advantage of her time alone to try to put together a plan to convince their friends that she was with Slovak. This was a task she knew was going to be nearly impossible to pull off, but she also knew she had to try for Gippal's sake.

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Rikku had called Baralai and Yuna early the next morning to let them know she was on her way over to Besaid to pick up Lelah. She also asked that Paine and Nooj come by as well because she had something important to tell all of them and wanted to do it as soon as possible. Nooj and Paine arrived earlier than she did, and the four sat at Yuna's kitchen table trying to figure it out.

"I can't imagine what it could be that Rikku wants to tell us." Paine said first. "I wonder if she's met up with Slovak or something. I hate not knowing." Nooj pushed up his glasses and took a sip of his tea.

"I'm sure it's good news, Paine." He tried assuring her. "Maybe she's found a way to get Gippal out of the Purifico prison…". As the four of them silently contemplated amongst themselves, the doorbell rang and Yuna hurried to the door to let Rikku inside.

"Hey cousin!" Yuna said as happily as she could, but she noticed right away that something was off in Rikku. "You ok?" As she went to close the door a hand held it open. When Yuna checked the opening to see who it was she was surprised at who she saw standing there.

Paine had risen from the kitchen table and walked to the doorway. She folded her arms in front of her and scowled. "What's _he_ doing here?"

"That's what _I'd_ like to know myself." Nooj said, coming up behind her. "Haven't you done enough to this woman? or do you get some sort of pleasure out of hurting one of your supposed friends?"

"Maybe I was invited to come." Slovak answered smartly, not cowering from Paine and Nooj's icy stares. Once Baralai joined everyone in the doorway their eyes went from Slovak to Rikku who just stood there, picking at her nails. "You wanna tell them, Rik?"

"Tell us what...?" Yuna asked hesitantly, knowing what she was going to say, but secretly hoped she wouldn't.

The knot in Rikku's stomach seemed to tighten with every second she stood there with all eyes on her, especially Slovak's. Taking in a huge breath, she approached Slovak and grabbed his hand, bringing him away from the doorway and into the living room.

"He's with me...as in _with _me, okay?"

"No it's _not_ 'okay'" Paine snapped, making her way to Rikku. "What about Gippal? You know...your _husband _and _father_ of your child?"

"What about him?" Rikku snapped back, secretly hoping Paine wouldn't deck her _too_ hard after getting in her face. It was too late for her to step back now, not while Slovak was watching. "You know how he feels about me and Lelah. Slovak's been there for me this entire time. I'm sorry you don't approve."

"None of us do, Rikku." Baralai spoke up, standing next to Yuna who looked like she was going to faint. "You know how Gippal feels about..."

"Yes I do! and it's not the way you think, no matter what he's told you!" She couldn't fight the tears that were threatening to surface out of anger and frustration. "He proved that to me last night again when I saw him." she lied, but couldn't think of any other way to convince them. "Please..." Rikku asked, looking at all of her dearest friends and relatives. "He's fine with this...he just wants me to be happy, and he loves Slovy. You guys need to be too, all right?...for Gippal?"

The four of them looked to each other and sighed collectively, no one liking the situation at all. It was Baralai that spoke first; him being the only one able to control his anger out of the three of them. "Okay Rikku. If this is what you say he wants. I'm not saying we approve, because we do not, but you're family and we love you."

Rikku approached Baralai and hugged him. "Thank you..."

Yuna had left the room and returned with Lelah in her arms. "She was great last night, no fussing at all! Adlain loved playing with her." Her cousin wouldn't look her in the eye, not after having so much to soak in.

"I guess we should get going then, Slovy." Rikku said, repositioning Lelah on her hip. "Oh! You should tell them about tomorrow." she said, hoping they would stop staring at her for a second.

"That's right. I have some good news." Slovak said through the tension, and he once again had their attention. "Gippal is getting sentenced tomorrow, but he will not be getting executed...just a life sentence in the Purifico prison. The sentencing is happening at the stadium in Luca, and all of you- especially the Meyvn and Praetor are to be present."

"What made them change their mind about execution?" Nooj asked, switching from civilian to business mode.

"Cid and the Al-Bheds collectively decided they did not want to enforce execution, especially since there is no other physical evidence aside from Gippal's actual confession that he killed Al and Faj. I swayed them as well...I don't want to see him killed either."

"Thanks for letting us know." Baralai said as nicely as he could, which at this point was hard even for him to do. "We will be there for our friend, you can count on that."

The two made their way to the front door and opened it. "I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?" Rikku said with a shaky smile. Paine didn't say anything; she just turned around and walked the other way and Nooj followed behind her. Yuna tried to smile but covered her eyes with her hand and Baralai put an arm around her.

"See you." Baralai said, nodding to Rikku as he closed the door and leant up against it. Yuna fell into her husband's arms and quietly cried.

"Why is she doing this?" she asked, her voice muffled within Baralai's robes. "How could she do that to Gippal?"

Baralai held Yuna close with one arm and stroked her hair with his free hand. Kissing the top of her head tenderly he sighed.

"Because she has to."


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: I hope you have some time to sit for a while, because this chapter is super long. There was no way to properly divide it and I apologize. _

**Chapter 16:**

_"Why is she doing this?" she asked, her voice muffled within Baralai's robes. "How could she do that to Gippal?"_

_Baralai held Yuna close with one arm and stroked her hair with his free hand. Kissing the top of her head tenderly he sighed. _

_"Because she has to." _

Yuna lifted her head from Baralai's chest and looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean, she has to?"

He walked her over to their sofa and sat them both down onto it. Holding her hands in his, he paused for a second to get his bearings. Nooj and Paine came back into the room about the same time and sat on the other sofa across from them.

"I felt it when she hugged me." Baralai admitted among them, tightening his grip on Yuna's hands. "The relief she felt when she thanked me...rather..._us_...for supporting her. It was almost like she was trying to tell me secretly that this wasn't her idea." He hoped Yuna would understand as he stared into her sad blue and green eyes. "I think _that's_ the reason Gippal is getting life in the Purifico prison instead of death, _not_ because the Al-Bhed's did not want it. Slovak's the one in charge, and the only one that would benefit. And I bet he's using Rikku as a tool in helping him reach that goal."

"Oh, I hope it's really true!" Yuna exclaimed, almost knocking Baralai over as she wrapped her arms around him again.

"That sounds all well and good, Baralai" Paine began, shifting her feet. "But are we just going to let him get away with all of this? In the span of a month he's pit Rikku against Gippal, and now he's forcing her to go against us too."

"No, but we also cannot afford to get Gippal into deeper trouble than he already is by trying to interfere. We just have to go along with this for now. As long as Gippal is still in the prison at least he's alive and we could work on getting him completely out after this is all officially over. Am I right, Baralai?" Nooj asked, nodding at the Praetor.

"Correct." He agreed. "We'll get him out as soon as we possibly can."

"Who Uncle Lai Lai?...Uncle Gippal?" Juin asked as he barreled through the living room with Adlain trailing behind. "I miss him! It's been a long time since he's visited."

"Visy-ned! Visy-ned!" Adlain repeated, smiling innocently. Baralai picked up his son, settling him on his lap.

"That's _'Visited'_ Adlain, and yes Juin, we were talking about Uncle Gippal. We're going to find a way to bring him back home and hopefully soon." Baralai assured the little boy, tousling his short, deep chestnut hair.

"'Lain and I don' like that Sno-pak guy Aunt Rikku is hanging around with, right 'Lain?" Juin announced, and Adlain giggled, nodding his head.

The four of them laughed, and Juin went over to where his parents sat, making a spot for himself in between them.

"Neither do we, son." Nooj said surely. "Neither do we."

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_**Djose, Rikku's house**_

"I can't believe I talked back to Paine." Rikku said sadly, setting a sleeping Lelah in her bouncy chair. "It's no wonder she wouldn't look at me when we left."

"She had it coming...damn woman needs to be put in her place. I figured the Meyvn didn't lose _all_ of his balls to Sin, but I see I was wrong." Slovak plopped himself down onto Rikku's loveseat and rested his boots on the cocktail table.

"Don't talk about my friends that way!" Rikku snapped, shoving his dirty boots off of her table angrily. "You have no right!"

Slovak stood up and grabbed Rikku by the arm, squeezing the muscle as tight as she could and she winced. "I don't know who _you_ think you're talking to like that, missy when you know I'm the one holding all of the cards." Like a rag doll he threw her onto the loveseat across from his. "You just play nice in all this and no one gets hurt. Understand?"

Rikku grabbed her sore arm, panting heavily. "Fine." she said venomously, and stormed out of the room. Leaning against the wall in the kitchen, still clutching her arm, Rikku sighed through tears. "When is this all going to end, and what did I get myself into?"

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_The next day- Luca Stadium_

The stadium was once again packed; people of all races attended, but the majority were Al-Bhed. Members of the Faction filled up one section by themselves, being that there were so many members of it. Slovak shut the Faction down so the members could attend, figuring one day of missed work would not halt the rebuilding of Home too much.

In the podium area sat Cid, ten members of the jury, Nooj, Baralai, Paine and Rikku. Slovak stood at the podium itself, cigarette in one hand, and his other rested on the podium's surface. Off to the side of the podium were armed guards standing in uniform, which made the four very uneasy. They sat with heavy hearts, taking comfort in the fact that Gippal wasn't going to be executed, but found little else also knowing after today he would never see daylight ever again. It was a brilliant day; the stadium remained open, and a gentle breeze blew throughout the stands.

"Are you sure Lulu didn't mind watching the boys and Lelah?" Paine asked Yuna. "Lelah's still too small to do anything, but when our boys get together, especially with Vidina things could get hairy for her."

"Don't worry about that." Yuna replied confidently. "I have a portable sphere on me in case they act up and she wants a break. She can let us know any time. Besides...they love being there- they'll behave." Yuna paused, studying the warrior's face. "I don't think you're really worried about the boys and Lulu..."

"Yeah..." Paine replied, knowing that she could never really convince Yuna she was ever fine when she really wasn't. "This whole thing with Rikku and Slovak is really bothering me. I just don't understand why he has to do this to her."

Yuna chewed on Paine's words for a moment, not really sure what to say herself and glanced over at Rikku, who sat by her father next to Slovak's seat by the podium. She noticed the thief fidget in her seat, looking very tired, and worn out. "I wonder just how much longer Rikku's going to be able to hold out. We forget that while it's been hard on us, it's worse for her. She's really trying to shoulder this all on her own."

"Well that's just stupid when we are all here for her." Paine said annoyed. "What kind of hold does that bastard have over her to make her even consider such a decision?"

"It's obviously Gippal, as Baralai said. We have to trust her and believe there will be an end to all of this." Yuna paused when she heard Slovak talk into the microphone. "Looks like it's all starting now."

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Faction, members of the Triad, Family members, friends, and all other honored guests" Slovak started calmly. "May I have your attention please?" He raised his hands up into the air; A cigarette wedged between his fingers. "May I ask you to all rise, as our defendant is brought to the podium area." With those words everyone did as they were instructed, and two Al-Bhed guards brought a shackled Gippal up to the podium area, where he stood surrounded by his friends, the armed guards, and Slovak in front of him. Rikku's heart leapt in her throat at the sight of him bound and broken. He didn't make eye contact with anyone; his eye was fixed steadily on the ground beneath him.

Slovak cleared his throat, raising up a piece of parchment.

"Everyone, Gippal Arakaki has been charged with the murders of Alek Rajine and Fajio Magah. Gippal, how do you plead?" He turned his attention to Gippal, as did everyone on the podium and in the stadium.

Knowing what he had to do, Gippal cleared his throat and said calmly. "Guilty"

Slovak took a drag of his cigarette and continued with the proceedings. "Members of the Jury, and Cid Highwind, who is the collective voice of the Al-Bhed people, For Mr. Arakaki's full cooperation by admission to this crime I ask that the sentence for this crime be reduced from execution to life in the Purifico prison effective immediately."

"Excuse me." Baralai interrupted, raising his hand. "What about the opinions of the Triad?"

"I thought I made this clear that there would be a conflict of interest, therefore you and the Meyvn do not get a vote?" Slovak replied, keeping his cool despite being annoyed by the Praetor.

"Slovak you may proceed. Please stand down, Praetor Baralai." The lead member of the jury announced, and Baralai listened to him, reluctantly heading back to his place by Nooj.

Slovak continued; a shitty grin spread across his face from ear to ear as he celebrated that small victory to himself. "Members of the Jury, Cid..what may I ask is your answer? Life or death?"

"We, the members of the Jury hereby allow the sentence of life in the Purifico prison." The lead juror replied.

Cid put a hand to the back of his head, obviously uncomfortable with the formalities of the situation and the fact that his own son in law was being tried in the first place. "I say life in the prison as well. No sense killin' someone whose been cooperatin' with us this whole time."

"Then it is agreed." Slovak announced. "Gippal Arakaki will get life in the Purifico prison for the murders of Alek and Fajio. This case is closed." As he banged the gavel down onto the podium Cid, Nooj, Baralai, Yuna, Paine and Rikku all sighed in relief that his life was spared. Rikku tried making eye contact with Gippal once again while Slovak's back was still to her but he refused to look up. She understood, but the sting of that small gesture of rejection made her stomach hurt.

"I guess we could be thankful that he will not die, and that will leave us more time to try and figure out a way to prove that Slovak killed those guys and not Gippal." Nooj said to Baralai. "Now let's get out of here. I am sure everyone is glad to put this behind them."

Baralai nodded and the two started to walk towards their wives, until Slovak stopped them.

"May I ask where you two are going?"

"We're leaving. I believe there is no other business here to discuss." Nooj replied coolly, trying not to cause a scene.

"Oh but I'm afraid there is." Slovak declared "And it involves you two."

The crowd gasped, as did Rikku, Yuna, and Paine. Nooj and Baralai, however, stood solid before Slovak.

"What do you mean, it involves us? Nooj and I have done nothing wrong here!" Baralai retorted, his voice louder than Nooj's was due to his own rising anger.

Slovak began laughing, first very low, but in an instant, his laughter turned loud and bellowing. "Gippal is not done here! There is another crime, one that involves you two, _and_ the Meyvn's lovely wife!" Paine's face went white and she looked to Nooj and Baralai as if to ask them what was going on.

Even Gippal's head raised with that declaration. "I didn't do anything else, Slovak and you know it! They didn't do anything in this!"

"Oh, but they did! And you know exactly what I mean..._all four of you!_" Slovak accused, pointing at the Meyvn and Praetor.

"Members of the Jury, The Praetor and Meyvn were given strict orders _not_ to visit Mr. Arakaki in his cell to discuss this case, because they are friends and would sway you to believe that Gippal is not guilty in this crime. Therefore, as a violation of this order I move to have Nooj and Baralai stripped of their titles in the Triad, effective immediately, and replaced by men of my choosing!"

"You can't do that!" Paine shouted from her place. "You have no authority to make any such decision, Slovak!"

"Order!" Slovak yelled, banging the gavel onto the podium. "I am not finished!"

As everyone in the audience returned to their seats, the jury huddled together to talk amongst themselves. Cid did not get involved, as he was only involved in Gippal's trial, not the Triad, but he could tell by the look on his daughter's face that she was beginning to feel frightened for Gippal. "Don't worry Rik" Cid said as calmly as he could. "They ain't gonna do nothin' else to Gippal."

"I know the three of you went to Gippal's cell just a little over one week ago. You may know all of the short cuts and passageways throughout the Temple walls, Praetor, but I had security cameras installed. Very careless of you..." He turned to the jury. "Have you reached a decision?"

The lead juror nodded and began. "We the jury, agree to the expulsion of Praetor Baralai and Meyvn Nooj from the Triad, effective immediately, and to be replaced by qualified men of your choosing, Slovak."

"No..." Yuna exclaimed, putting her hands to her mouth. "Baralai! can they do this?" She ran to her husband and held him tightly, as did Paine a few moments later at Nooj's side. "What's going on here?" Yuna looked up into Baralai's eyes, and for the first time he was helpless.

"This won't stick, please don't worry Yuna." Baralai tried to assure her, but he didn't even feel like there was a chance. "Just what is he doing?" He looked to Nooj, who was trying to assess the situation further, but ended up being just as confused as his friend.

"But what does this have to do with Gippal?" Nooj asked angrily, not caring about being proper any longer. "We were the ones that visited him...he had no idea we were going to do that."

"Ah, but he _did_ try to pin this crime on me in a subliminal message to you, just before you left the cell! and I have proof!" Slovak held out a sphere for all to see, and the audience continued to gasp in surprise. Gippal's shoulders slumped as he saw the sphere, suddenly remembering what he had said to them before they left. Slovak clicked on the sphere, and Gippal's voice rang out clear as a bell...

"_I can't tell you, but I __**can **__tell you it __**wasn't**__ Slovak..."_

He forwarded the sphere a bit further and pushed play once again

"_And I'm not going to tell you to try to find a way to get him to admit it in case he has a camera watching my every move and word I say." _

"That, members of the jury and audience, is grounds for execution!" He shouted, banging his gavel onto the podium once more. "And I order the execution to be done immediately! Guards!" The armed guards cocked their rifles and pointed them at Gippal as everyone looked on horrified.

"Pops! Can't you do something?! They're gonna kill him!" Rikku turned around to face the jury. "Please...don't let them kill him!"

The lead juror and the others put their heads together once more and discussed amongst themselves.

"Slovy! What are you doing?! I thought we had a deal?" She ran up to Slovak and grabbed his arm but he shoved her away.

"We didn't make a deal based on Gippal attempting to pin me with these murders!" Slovak shouted back to Rikku who was down on the ground. Cid knelt by her side and helped her to her feet.

"Yer takin' this whole thing too far, Slovak!" Cid yelled, holding onto Rikku. "Call this whole thing off, right now, ya hear?"

"I will not. As long as my life is in danger by _this man_ being left alive" he pointed to Gippal "Then I do not want him alive to have the chance to kill me. Jury, have you reached a verdict?"

"We have." The lead juror began. "We the jury declare Gippal Arakaki guilty of conspiring with members of the Triad in threatening the life of Slovak, and he shall be executed immediately."

"No!" Paine shouted, gripping onto Nooj tightly. "Don't do this!"

Slovak raised his hand to the armed guards. "Ready!"

"Stop this now, Slovak!" Yuna pleaded. "You can't be serious!"

The armed guards clicked their rifles again and waited for the final command. Gippal raised his head, finally making eye contact with Rikku, who still couldn't fully believe what was happening before her.

"Oh Gippal..." she said softly, tears emerged from her sad, brilliant green eyes. "I'm so sorry..."

"I love you, Cid's girl" He mouthed to her. "I'm sorry too..."

**_"Fire!"_**

The guards all shot at once, hitting Gippal simultaneously; his body flew violently backwards onto the podium area ground.

"NO!" Screamed Rikku, and she tried running over to her husband's body but was pulled back harshly by Slovak. "Let go of me, you monster!" She struggled to break free from his grasp but couldn't. "I said, let me go!"

Baralai and Nooj attempted to approach Slovak as well, but the guards held them back before they could get within two steps.

"You two, get Gippal's body out of here! You three, take the praetor, Meyvn and their wives to the Purifico prison. They are to stay there on the grounds of them being out of order until I give further notice. He glared at Rikku. "You're staying with me from now on, as you said you would."

"That was before you decided to have my husband shot and killed!!" She growled angrily, still trying to break free from his iron clad hold on her. "I would rather be put at the very bottom of the Purifico than spend another moment around you!" She spat in his face, which angered him further and he slapped her, enraging her father.

"That's enough, Slovak! Get yer stinkin' hands offa my daughter right now, you rotten sonofabitch!" Cid took a swing at the taller Al-Bhed, but he ducked out of the way.

"Guards! Arrest that man!" He looked at Rikku. "And put this woman in with her friends. I want extra security down there as soon as they arrive. Shoot them on sight if they do anything even remotely suspicious!" Slovak looked to the crowds in the stadium; the Al-Bheds began to rush the podium area, all ready to fight for Cid but Slovak stopped them in their tracks.

"Do not come any closer, or else I will have this man shot! Everyone is to go home, and anyone that tries to fight me will face severe punishment! The jury has decided, the ruling is done!" He slammed the gavel onto the podium one last time and the audience, fearing for their lives hurried out of the stadium as quickly as they could.

"See?" Slovak pointed out evilly "I told you, you were gonna pay for what you did to me!"

"But we didn't _do_ anything to you, Slovak! You were our friend! We trusted you!" Rikku screamed, now being held back by an armed guard. Tears continued to slide down her cheeks. "What did we do to deserve all this?! for Gippal to die? ANSWER ME!"

"You both always treated me like a third wheel." He said simply, lighting another cigarette. "You flaunted yourself in front of me for years! and I thought you had feelings for me, but when I asked you to be mine you laughed at me!

"I did not!" She cried, but he ignored her and continued on.

"And then days later you were with _him! _constantly rubbing your relationship in my face! I was a laughing stock...they all said you played me for a fool, and I swore no matter how long it took me I was going to make you both pay when the time was right, and I saw my opportunity at that moment I knew you were going to be giving birth to that bastard's child. I also knew he could never say no to a dig. You both played right into my hands."

"No..." Rikku whispered, emotionally defeated. "That's not how it was...you got it all wrong!"

"Enough! Get them all out of my face!" Slovak commanded, and they were all hauled away to the Purifico prison. The jurors collected themselves and proceeded to leave. Slovak approached the lead juror, handing him a bag of Gil. "I believe this belongs to you. Thank you for your cooperation."

"You're welcome, Slovak." The man grinned. "Anytime. That's what we bandits get paid for! thieving, kidnapping...impersonating juries...we make good livings these days. We'll keep in touch!" The man said, shaking Slovak's hand and walking away.

As the four sat in their cell, not knowing what was going to happen next, they mourned for their friend and husband for real this time as Slovak roamed around topside, enjoying his success and planning his speech for his induction as new leader of the Faction.


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: I really have to apologize for that last chapter once again if I didn't already. If it is any consolation it was very hard for me to write as much as it was for you to have read it. _

**Chapter 17:**

"I can't believe this happened." A shaken Paine declared, her face buried in her hands. Nooj sat beside her in the cell, his mechanical arm cradling her into his chest as he tried to comfort her. "I want to see Juin...I need to hold him." she cried, pressing her body closer to her husband's.

"I feel like a caged animal!" Yuna said angrily, her own tears hot and streaming down her face as she pointed to the guards standing before their cell. Baralai came up behind her and tried to console her, but she moved away from him. "I'm fine..." Although she was upset, Yuna had been through enough trying situations herself, and in a way she fell back into 'dealing' mode as she did when she lost most of her loved ones to Sin, and when she thought all hope was lost to save Baralai when he was being controlled by Shuyin. There was no time to be truly upset when so many things were stacked against them. She looked over at Rikku, who was standing at the front of the cell with her hands on the bars. "Rikku, are you all right?"

The blonde didn't say anything in response at first; she just stood there with her head down, her hair covering her tear stained face. Yuna approached her slowly, placing a hand on her cousin's shoulder. "We'll find a way out of this, Rikku. We always have, haven't we?" Rikku quickly spun around, wrapped her arms around Yuna and sobbed uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry!" She cried, her body shaking in Yuna's arms violently. "All this...it was done for nothing! NOTHING!"

Yuna held her cousin close to her, holding on as tightly as she could. "Oh Rikku..."

"It's all my fault! If I wasn't being a tease like Slovak said, we'd all be happy right now...Gippal wouldn't be dead!" She continued to shake in Yuna's arms, unable to catch her breath. "Why didn't he just kill me!?"

"Now that's enough, Rikku!" Nooj called to her. "Don't let anything that bastard said to you influence you in any way."

"So what's the plan now?" Baralai asked, seating himself next to Nooj and Paine. "What's going to happen to us? Surely he can't just disband the Triad like that?" He ran his hand through his platinum hair and sighed. "This is such a mess."

"I guess we wait and see what he's got in store for us." Nooj said simply. "We obviously can't do anything now with his goons watching over us like hawks. I'm sure this is all over the news by now. Shelinda must be having a field day with this."

Baralai nodded, shifting in his seat. "Well I hope he comes down soon to give us something...if only I could use the secret door."

"But he knows about them, and if these guards see you they'll kill you!" Yuna whispered low enough so the guards wouldn't hear. "He can't just get away with this..."

"He won't!" Rikku said, lifting her head from Yuna's shoulder. "He's gonna pay for this! if I ever get out of here..."

Yuna felt a vibration in her pocket, startling her at first. When she reached into her pocket, she was surprised to discover a sphere.

"What is that, Yuna?" Rikku whispered to her once again so the guards couldn't hear.

"It's my comm. sphere-the one I told Lulu to call if she had any problem with the kids!" She said quietly. "It's Lulu!" Trying to be as quiet as possible, she clicked the glowing orb on and Lulu's image appeared on the tiny screen.

"Yuna! I saw what happened from the news...is everyone all right?" Lulu asked, her voice low enough for Yuna to hear her.

"We're fine, Lulu." She responded, making her way to the far corner of the cell. "Slovak's got us locked up here- how are the children?"

"They're fine. Listen, tomorrow Slovak's planning on having a ceremony to induct himself into the Faction. He told me that you were all supposed to be going as well."

"I am not!" Rikku said matter-of- factly into the sphere. "I 'm not gonna cater to his needs any longer!"

Lulu's expression changed dramatically, her eyes became serious. "You don't have a choice, I'm afraid." The mage sighed heavily "He was here. He told me to tell you to expect him tomorrow to come get all of you. If you don't comply..." She paused, and bit her lip.

"What is it, Lulu? What's wrong?" Yuna asked, becoming increasingly afraid.

"He has guards outside of our hut. He'll have the kids killed..." She tried not to speak too loudly, so the children playing on the floor mat wouldn't hear her.

"No no no no no NO!" Rikku sobbed, collapsing to the cell's floor. "He's everywhere!" She screamed, and one of the guards banged on the bars with his gun.

"Hey! Quiet down in there!" He shouted, cocking the rifle. "I am supposed to shoot if any of you are doing anything odd in there!"

Baralai knelt down beside Rikku, and helped her to her feet. "He's not going to hurt them. Lulu, we're going. Don't worry." He assured her, and Yuna nodded into the sphere in agreement.

"Thank you for letting us know, Lu." Yuna said, trying to smile. "Kiss my little man for me. Tell him we love him." She clicked off the sphere and knuckled away a few tears of her own. Making her way to one of the cots in the cell, Yuna lie down on it. "We should try to get some rest. We're going to need all of our strength tomorrow."

"We're going to need more than strength" Paine said, sitting herself upright from Nooj.

"We're going to need a miracle."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning in Djose was a busy one as Faction members saw to the preparations for Slovak's induction as its new leader. A high wooden platform was erected in front of the old temple (which is now the Faction headquarters) doors; being that there were so many members of the Faction they decided having it outside was more sufficient due to there being more room outside than in. Slovak stood atop the platform pointing here and there, barking orders at anyone within earshot.

"I want that right there!" he ordered, and two guards scrambled over to move the podium where he demanded. Looking over at three guards- two men and a woman clad completely head to toe in digging gear, he motioned for them to come towards him. "You three...I need you to go to the tenth floor of the Purifico prison. There you will escort five people back here as quickly as you can, understood? It will be the Meyvn and his wife, The Praetor and his wife, and Gippal's wife, Rikku."

The three nodded in agreement. "Yes sir!" the taller of the three announced, saluting Slovak.

"Now get out of here! the ceremony is gonna be starting soon, and I want them here as soon as possible. " He barked, causing them to hurry off and board a hover, headed to Bevelle.

"I can't believe yer gonna make them watch this monstrosity after all ya done to them kids..." Cid shouted to Slovak from below the platform. "Ya really ain't got no shame, do ya?"

Slovak grimaced at the sight of Rikku's father and made his way down the steps to where Cid was. "Oh this is more than they deserve." Slovak said, reaching for a cigarette out of the pack from his pocket. "I'm gonna love this, and when I reassemble the Triad, it'll be even better!" He laughed as he lit his cigarette, taking in a long drag.

"We'll find a way to strip ya of that title, Slovak. Don't be gettin' too comfortable with it." Cid flicked his own cigar out onto the ground, stomping on it angrily.

"I don't think so old man. No one in this Faction will do anything against me, that is...unless they don't want to live." Slovak turned around, heading back up the stairs of the platform. "Make sure you've got your speech all prepared, old man. You're going to be officially giving me the title, and you better be happy about it." He flicked his cigarette down in Cid's direction, nearly missing him with it.

"What an ass..." Cid sighed angrily. "There's gotta be something we kin' do."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The five sat on their cots in the cell, worn out from not getting much sleep the night before as they waited for Slovak to show up. "It's nice of him to do this so suddenly..." Nooj began sarcastically "He's not even giving us or anyone else a chance to even send Gippal properly." Paine rose from her cot and extended her hand to Nooj, who took it and rose from his own.

"Can't we just bum rush him and throw him into the bowels of the Purifico?" She laughed uneasily. "If he touches a hair on Juin's head..." Paine balled her fists and Nooj covered them with his own hands.

"Relax." He said calmly to her, loosening her grips. "No one's going to hurt Juin or any of the other children. I highly doubt Slovak has it in him to be _that_ cruel."

"After yesterday I'm not so sure anymore what to think of him." Rikku chimed in sadly from where she sat. "I had no idea he had so much pent up anger over Gippal and I..." She wiped her face with the back of her hands, and Yuna went over to help her up.

"You couldn't have known...you loved and trusted him, just as you do all of us." She reasoned, placing an arm around her cousin. "It's not your fault."

Baralai stood at the head of the cell, peering through the bars that went down the hallway. He spotted the three al-bhed guards Slovak sent down to bring them to Djose. "Looks like he couldn't even come and get us himself." Baralai muttered. "You guys ready?"

"Yes" was the collective answer, and the guards approached.

"We've got orders to take you five to Djose for the ceremony" The woman said, her voice muffled by the helmet she was wearing. She pointed to Nooj and Paine "You two in front of me" and the two did as they were told, standing in front of her. Baralai and Yuna followed behind the second male guard, and Rikku was last behind the third, who nudged her roughly in the back with his rifle.

"Ow! Cut it out! I'm goin' already!" She spat angrily at the masked guard.

"Move it." He ordered, continuing to push her and the others along, and they made their way out of the temple and into the hover that awaited them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By the time everyone got to Djose, there were many people standing in the streets facing the platform to get a glimpse of Slovak as if they could not believe this was actually going to happen. As he stood in the center of the platform, Cid was to his right, and off to his right stood the five with the three guards standing behind them, ready to shoot if they tried anything suspicious. There were ten steps off to the left, and each one had a guard standing upon it clad as the three guards were, their own rifles at the ready. Once it seemed everyone was assembled, Cid began to speak.

"Today...we announce a new leader to the Faction since the um..." he cleared his throat, unable to say the word knowing his daughter was standing behind him. "Execution of Gippal yesterday. As Slovak signs the papers before him we will bow our heads in Gippal's memory." He looked at Slovak, who was visibly upset at that gesture, but Cid glared at him as if to say 'Just deal with it' and he didn't argue.

As he scribbled his name onto each of the parchments, everyone bowed their heads low and not a sound could be heard. When he was finished, Slovak slammed the pen onto the podium, breaking everyone out of their tribute. Cid picked up the papers, tapped them on the podium and looked them over.

"Ok. Slovak raise yer right hand." Cid commanded, and he did as he was told. "Do ya promise to run this Faction with fairness and honesty towards all that join it from here on out?"

"I do." He said simply.

"Then I before I make this all official I need ta ask if anyone has any objections to this decision." He looked around hopefully, but knew no one was going to respond. "All right then...I now announce..."

"WAIT!"

a voice called from behind them, and Cid turned around, facing the guard that stood behind Baralai and Yuna. "I don't approve!" The man stepped up and approached the two at the podium, Slovak angering with every passing second.

"And who do you think _you_ are, making such a futile declaration?" Slovak spat angrily. "Take off that mask and show yourself before you're to be shot!"

The man unbuckled every clasp on his helmet slowly, and when he raised it from his head a crown of blonde dreadlocks spilled out from underneath it. The crowd let out a collected gasp, and Slovak stood in front of the man horrified.

"Alek!...but how?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

_The crowd let out a collected gasp, and Slovak stood in front of the man horrified._

_"Alek!...but how?" _

"I don't think a killer should be allowed to run the Faction!" Alek announced, pushing Slovak aside. "If anything, this man needs to be arrested right away for attempting to kill not only me, but Fajio... which he has succeeded in doing." Alek hung his head at his mention of Fajio's name and raised it back up to stare angrily at Slovak.

"I don't know what he's talking about!" Slovak shouted back. "I had nothing to do with that!"

"It's over, Slovak. I'm not afraid of you." Alek drew his rifle at the man, cocking the weapon. "Give it all up right now, and I might consider not offing you in front of our people." He stood steadily, with the rifle pointed directly at Slovak's head.

Slovak stood frozen in his place, unsure of what his next move was going to be. He rose his hands, a little shaken at first, but regained his composure as quickly as he had lost it. "You have no proof that it was I that tried to kill you, Alek. First of all, you have no witnesses."

"But I do..." Alek answered, but Slovak interrupted him.

"...And who's going to run the Faction if I don't? You? That's a laugh..." Slovak noticed Alek's expression not changing with his words and faltered in his tangent.

"I don't want to run the Faction." Alek said, shaking his head. "Not when the current Faction leader is still among us."

At that announcement, the crowd, Cid, and the five standing behind them gasped in shock. Rikku froze where she stood, trying to understand what Alek meant when she suddenly recalled the guard behind her in the Purifico prison and the way he hit her from behind. Slowly, Rikku turned around to now face the same guard standing behind her. Cocking her head, unable to see through the helmet, Rikku began unbuckling each individual buckle until it was loose enough to come off. As she lifted the helmet gently off of the guard's head, his face revealed the person she was hoping the most to see underneath it.

"G...Gippal?" She said hesitantly with eyes as wide as saucers. Putting her hand to his cheek, she stroked it gently, unable to believe he was really there, and tears made their way to the lower lids of her eyes. "Please tell me I'm not dreaming..."

Gippal smiled warmly at his wife, and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him. "You're not dreaming, it's really me." He replied, burying his face into her neck, relieved to finally be able to hold her close after all the time that had passed.

Rikku pulled herself away from him, not wanting to stop gazing at his handsome face, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It really IS you!" In her excitement, Rikku pressed her lips to his, losing her hands in the short, golden spikes she had always loved, refusing to let him go. The four surrounding them heaved collected sighs of relief; Paine and Yuna smiled through tears, happy he was still alive as they watched the happy reunion. The guard standing behind Nooj and Paine removed her helmet, revealing to be Alek's wife, Jilda, who went over to be by his side, but not before turning to smile at Rikku. At this point Slovak looked as though he'd seen Home being blown up all over again, unable to move from where he stood as Cid ran over to where Rikku and Gippal were standing.

"My boy! I'm glad you're still with us, son!" Cid said, unable to contain his excitement. "I knew something good like this was gonna happen!" He tousled Gippal's hair and put an arm around him as Paine made her way in to hug him as well. Their reunion was cut short when Slovak pounded his hand in a rage onto the podium.

"Arrest that man!" He shouted to the ten guards standing on the platform steps, pointing at Gippal who now had Rikku in his arms. "He should have been killed and his body disposed of for his crimes against me!" Slovak paused, noticing the guards weren't moving at his command and stomped his boot. "What are you waiting for?! I said shoot him, NOW!"

"They're not going to listen to you now, Slovy." Alek revealed, still holding his rifle to Slovak's face. "They're not your armed guards." He nodded, and one by one the guards removed their helmets, revealing two Al-bheds, two Yevonites, two Ronso, two Guado, and two Hypello. Alek looked once again to Slovak who couldn't seem to form words for the men and women on the steps.

"These people my friends..." Alek announced to the crowd, while pointing at the people on the stairs "...Are the real judges...the ones that were supposed to be presiding during yesterday's unlawful trial against our Faction leader! The judges you saw yesterday were none other than lousy bandits Slovak hired to wrongly convict Gippal and the other members of the Triad!!" He motioned to a group of Al-Bheds into the crowd pulling a cage with men inside it behind them. "Gippal, Jilda and I captured them last night after Jilda and I took Gippal's 'Body' away from the scene!"

At that revelation Slovak then remembered ordering two guards to dispose of Gippal's body after he was shot and his eyes widened when he realized it was the two of them. Cid stepped away from Rikku and headed back over to Slovak and Alek.

"Alek...how long have ya been back? and why didn't ya let us know sooner you were still alive?" Cid wondered. "Ya coulda saved us a heap of trouble from this bumblin' idiot here..." He added, pointing to Slovak who just couldn't seem to move from his spot. "What happened while you were gone?"

Alek lowered his rifle and two al-bhed men came from behind Slovak and detained him while he began his story.

"After Faj and I were shot off of the Winno, we rolled for a while before hitting a sand wall. Faj found a cave, or pocket within the sand, and we tended to one another's injuries. Mine wasn't that bad; I was only struck in the shoulder but Faj's..." He paused for a moment. "Faj's were far worse. He was hit in the stomach and he lost a lot of blood. I did my best to make sure he was comfortable, and I found a piece of machina steel large enough to use as a gurney for him. We walked through sandstorms for miles, my compass led us in the direction of the beginning of Bikanel and we were days from it but Fajio couldn't hold on much longer." Jilda hugged Alek from behind as he struggled to remember his ordeal. "By the time I made it to the Bikanel entrance, Fajio had died. I placed his body in a capsule hidden in a cave next to the entrance so I could retrieve him later to bury him properly."

Gippal wrapped his arm tighter around Rikku subconsciously; he had heard the story before, and hearing his friend have to relay it yet again only fueled the anger he felt towards Slovak at that moment. Alek wasn't done though, and he continued his story.

"I spent a few days at the Travel Agency on the Thunder Plains. I needed to eat, clean up, and regain my strength if I were to be any help in this. Once I was feeling like my old self, the first thing I did was go back to my house in Djose."

"And that's when you scared the daylights out of me, Alek." Jilda smiled, kissing his cheek. "I was heading over to the Purifico prison to talk to Gippal because I had realized that it _was_ Slovak that had killed them, but when I stepped out of my house, Alek called out to me and I lost it...I was so glad to see him standing there." She looked over at Rikku and frowned. "I'm sorry I doubted Gippal and screamed at you that night." Jilda said regretfully. "Slovak persuaded me to do it, using my anger at losing Alek to justify my behavior."

Rikku just shook her head. "Jilda, don't worry about it. If I were in your position I coulda done the same thing. I'm so glad you're OK, Alek."

Alek nodded at Rikku and they urged him to finish his tale. "So anyway...Jilda and I put on our digging suits, which thankfully are used as guard suits and snuck into the Purifico prison where we made ourselves look busy around Slovak while trying to see if we can get any information out of him, and that's when we found out about his blackmail on Rikku and his plan to have Gippal killed. We were able to get to Gippal without any interruptions and by then he had taken the recording sphere out of Gippal's cell."

"But I don't get how you survived being shot" Rikku asked Gippal, a little confused. "The close range...the way they all let into you at once..." She winced at the thought of the events of the day before and Gippal just pulled her closer, kissing her head.

"Al was able to snatch me a bullet proof vest from the supply closet for the guards!" Gippal lifted his shirt, revealing a black vest with several holes impaled into it. "See? I told you adding that extra layer of fabric would make it stronger." Gippal's face turned serious, and he gazed into Rikku's eyes. "I didn't mean to put you through that...or any of you." He said sadly, looking among his closest friends. "It was the only way I could get out of this. If Alek hadn't shown up...this ending wouldn't be as happy as it is now."

"So now...Slovak. Looks like ya got some explainin' to do. What do ya haveta say fer yerself?" Cid asked, getting right into the man's face. "This all couldn'ta been because Rikku scorned ya. What else ya got?" Everyone's eyes trained on Slovak's as he stood there, feeling the burn of many eyes upon him. His anger consumed him, and he struggled to break free from the grasp of the two guards.

"Hold him steady!" Alek yelled, and the two restrained him further.

"I was the one that was supposed to get that Faction job!" Slovak shouted, still struggling. "Once he started fooling around with her" He pointed to Rikku and Gippal "_he_ took the job away from me because he kissed Cid's ass!!"

Gippal shouted back at Slovak. "That's not true, Slovak! I'd never kiss that man's ass!" he pointed to Cid, who glanced back at his son in law with a grin. "I got that job fair and square! It had nothing to do with Rikku. Slovy, you did horribly on the machina tests...you couldn't fix anything properly. There was no way they were going to let you run the Faction like that."

At this point, Slovak grew steadily angrier and unable to maintain what little composure he had. He knew he was caught, and there was nothing he could do to keep from being arrested and tried. In one last burst of energy, Slovak broke himself free from the guards, grabbed one of their guns, approached Rikku and snatched her from Gippal's arms. Despite her protests, he threw her off the platform and onto a nearby hover truck where she hit her head on the window and fell unconscious in the back.

"You're not gonna win that easily, Gippal!" Slovak shouted as he sped away with Rikku. "I'm still gonna make you pay one way or another for all you've done to me!"

Alek and Gippal quickly leapt off of the platform, heading towards another hover truck that was parked there. Nooj and Baralai hurried behind them, getting on the hover as well and they followed Slovak towards the Bikanel Desert.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19:**

The hover truck whizzed down Mushroom Rock Road; Gippal's foot pressed so hard onto the pedal Alek thought it would go right through to the bottom.

"We're never gonna be able to catch up to Slovak in this heap o' junk!" Alek exclaimed, looking around the vessel they were flying in curiously. "We don't even know what this thing is capable of…"

"We don't have time to get anything better." Gippal replied with urgency in his voice. "If she's knocked out, he's not gonna hesitate to throw her off into the sand like he did to you and Faj." His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter . "Besides, you forget who you're talking to, Alek! There's nothing I can't pilot the cred out of!" His words didn't mirror his body movements, which showed obvious concern for his wife. "At any rate we've got to try…"

Nooj and Baralai were shoved side to side in the back with every twist and turn Gippal made. "I hope he knows what he's doing" Nooj groaned as Baralai slammed into him yet again. Muttering apologies, Baralai pushed himself off of the Meyvn and tried to stay secure in the spot he'd moved to.

"I don't really think Gippal knows what he's doing." Baralai said bluntly as he tried to keep his bearings. "I'm pretty sure he's just acting on emotion right now." He looked up ahead on the road. "At least Slovak's not out of our sights. As long as his hover doesn't go any faster we should catch up to them the way Gippal's piloting."

Slovak looked behind him, annoyed that Gippal and his hover were mere miles behind. Putting the pedal to his own ride, He shifted downwards, and the hover picked up a little more momentum. Glancing to the back of the truck, Slovak noticed Rikku still passed out along the bed floor, thankful she wasn't awake. "She'd just give me major trouble." He grumbled to himself as he returned his focus back to the road ahead of him. Just before Mushroom Rock Road met the Mi'ihen, Slovak made a sharp right, now flying across the water. Unsure of his own craft, He hoped the hover would be able to stand the fifteen to twenty minute sail across the sea to Bikanel. "With any luck" he thought "their hover won't make it and they'll sink in the sea!"

"Oh man! I can't believe we're actually gonna try to cross the water in this thing!" Alek screamed over the whirring of the vehicle's engine.

"Hold on to your hats, Al ol' buddy, and you guys back there!" Gippal said cockily. "We're gonna try out this baby's water hovering abilities!" He flipped a few switches, and a raft blew out from beneath the underbelly of the truck. "A-ha! I knew this thing had some kind of floating device! Well…I should know, since I _did_ help develop half these damn things!" Gippal laughed, slowly beginning to enjoy the chase which caused some concern between the Meyvn and Praetor.

"Let's hope we make it out of here alive" Nooj said flatly, shaking his head. "Some things never change."

"That they don't." Baralai agreed, still holding on for his life. "Besides, he's been locked up for a while...I think he's enjoying the freedom." They rocked around as the hover bumped some rocks underneath them before hitting the water and bouncing back into the air. Within minutes both hovers whipped onto the sands of Bikanel and passed the main entrance, almost taking out the few Al-Bheds hanging around the headquarters. Nhadala poked her head out from the head booth.

"What the heck is going on out here?!" She yelled over to a mechanic fixing a digging hover. "Did those hovers have any clearance?!"

"Not that I know of, Ma'am." The guy responded, lifting his head up from his work. "You see anything over there, Kihn?" He called out to another mechanic on the other side.

"One of them kinda looked like Gippal, Nhadala" Kihn responded. "It seems like he's following someone!"

"Wait a minute..." Nhadala began, scratching her head. "Wasn't Gippal executed yesterday? Are we that out of the loop out here, guys?" she wondered. "There's only one man I can call about all this..." and she retreated back into her booth to make a call on her comm. sphere.

Meanwhile, as Slovak was leading them deeper into the desert, Rikku began to stir from her impromptu nap. She rubbed her head and squinted her eyes; the brightness in the desert was ten times worse than on regular land without proper goggles and it took quite a while for her to adjust her eyes to it. "Where am I? And why does my head hurt?" As she took her hand out of her hair it was warm and wet.

And red. There was blood all over her palm and she shrieked. "Oh my gosh!" Rikku exclaimed. "What the heck?" She couldn't sit upright; the hover was moving way too fast, and the wind was showing no mercy to her hair as it whipped about, covering her face and obstructing her view. As she sat on the truck's bed trying to steady herself, she remembered Slovak grabbing her and tossing her back there. When she was able to look behind her, Rikku noticed he was at the wheel, and the window was cracked with remnants of her blood drying on the shards.

Placing her hand back onto her head, Rikku mumbled a quick healing spell and her hand turned a bright, glowing green. The wound was closed, but it wasn't healed; She couldn't do the spell properly with all of the movement. As she looked in front of her she saw another hover truck following closely behind them. "Are we in Bikanel?" She wondered. "Is that Gippal?" The hover jumped a sand dune and she bounced upwards, shrieking as she fell back onto her behind on the hard, metal surface. "Owie!" I need a seatbelt or something!"

Rikku made her way to the very edge of the truck's bed and pulled herself up to lean on the door. She gripped for dear life with one hand as she frantically waved the other to let Gippal and the others know she was all right.

"Hey look!" Alek pointed towards the hover. "Rikku's awake!"

"She's gonna draw attention to herself" Gippal said with a worried tone. "If he sees her it's not gonna be good...we have to get her off that thing and fast!" He pressed his foot onto the pedal even harder and downshifted, but the hover didn't have much left to give. "C'mon!" He begged the vehicle. "You gotta give me something else here!"

Slovak wasn't sure where he was going, but he knew he had to keep pushing forward. Looking in his rearview to see if they were still behind him he noticed Rikku waving to Gippal. "Oh no you don't." he said angrily, jerking the hover truck to the left, causing her to lose her balance and roll back into the bed.

"AH!!!" she screamed, covering her head so she wouldn't hit it again. "Slovak stop this!" her cries fell on deaf ears as he continued to speed up and make sharp turns.

"Let's see how you manage on the sands of the desert!" He declared, swerving to and fro as he tried to snap her out of the bed. With one final turn she finally flew out and tumbled onto the hot sand.

"Oh no, Rikku!" Gippal exclaimed, u turning the hover as quickly as he could, causing Alek to smash up against the side door. "Hold on baby, I'm comin! Nooj! Baralai! To your right! Try to get Rikku out of the sand, quick!" Baralai stood up, leaning against the side of the truck and saw the blonde lying on her side in the sand. Looking about the bed he noticed a rope with a hook at the end of it.

"We can use this! Baralai said, attaching the hook to the truck's wall, securing it tight. "I'm gonna go down there, Nooj, make sure this hook doesn't come undone!" He climbed over the side, sliding down the rope carefully, making his way to Rikku. "Rikku!" He called out to her, and she rose to her knees.

"Oh Baralai! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Quick! reach for my hand, I'll pull you up!" He extended his arm and tried to stretch his fingers as far as he could. Rikku managed to grab him and kicked herself off of the sand, into Baralai's arms. "Nooj! I need you to pull us out! Hold on tight, Rikku!" and she locked her fingers behind the Praetor's neck as he struggled to pull them as far as he could back to the hover while Nooj did his best to reel them in. Alek jumped to the back and gave Nooj a hand but they proved to be too heavy against the winds whirring around them.

Slovak turned his own hover around and headed right for Gippal's, determined to knock Baralai and Rikku off of the rope, and he was just inches from them when Nooj and Alek gave one more heave, raising them up and onto the back. Slovak's hover hit the side of Gippal's, causing it to spin out in mid air.

Gippal called out to Alek. "Al, I need you to take over the wheel! I'm gonna try to get onto Slovak's ride!" Alek hopped to the front again and grabbed the steering wheel as Gippal climbed out of the driver's side window and onto the roof.

"Gippal! Be careful!" Rikku shouted out to him. He just turned to her and winked.

"Don't worry- this is what I live for! Throw me that rope!" Rikku did as he asked, taking the rope hook side and tossing it up to her husband. As he caught it, he spun it above his head and tossed it onto Slovak's hover where it latched onto the back door. Jumping off of the roof, Gippal bounced around a little on the sand, dragging behind the vehicle, but he slowly began inching his way up the rope until he made it to Slovak's bed.

He climbed into the cockpit, immediately punching Slovak in the side of his face and the hover skidded off to the side, tumbling around a few feet before Slovak regained control of it. Alek maintained speed with the other hover, riding along side it as best as he could without smashing into it, but every time Gippal slugged Slovak it skidded out of control and he needed to make sure their hover wasn't taken out with it.

Both hovers jumped another sand dune and headed into a pit crater that seemed to be about 1,700 feet deep and wider than Besaid Island. At the bottom of the crater lie quicksand that stretched out the entire span of the crater. Both hovers continued to travel at breakneck speeds, and Gippal continually tried to get Slovak to give up the controls. When his last punch knocked Slovak away from the wheel, Gippal grabbed it and put it on auto pilot. While he was still on the floor of the truck, Gippal dove on top of Slovak and began assailing him as hard as he could with his fists before throwing him out onto the back truck bed.

Slovak stood up and punched back, hitting Gippal in the jaw, making his head jerk back. Alek did his best to continue to keep up with the hover that seemed like it was heading right for the crater's wall.

"Gippal! The hover! It's heading for the wall!" Alek called out to him, bringing his own hover as close to the other one as he could. "Get back in this truck! Hurry!"

"Give it up, now! Slovak!" Gippal said through gritted teeth as he struggled to fight Slovak from pushing him out of the hover. "You're not gonna win this...not now!"

"If I'm going down, you're going down with me!" Slovak bit back, pushing Gippal farther over the edge of the back of the truck.

Rikku watched the whole thing aside from Alek with her hands over her mouth. "They're gonna fall out into that quicksand!" She yelled. "What can we do to help them?!"

"I don't know, but we have to either put on the brakes or lift this thing up because we're gonna smash right into the side of this crater!" Alek announced, still attempting to get even closer to the hover as the wall quickly approached.

Eventually Slovak gave one final nudge and Gippal fell backwards towards the sand below. He grabbed onto the rope that was still attached to the bed and slid down it as Slovak watched him from the hover. Alek hit the brakes on his own hover and sped towards where Gippal was dangling, pushing the engine to its limits. By the time Gippal let go of the rope and fell into the truck bed Alek put on the brakes again and the hover plummeted down towards the quicksand just a few feet from the crater's edge. As it slid down supported by the raft that Gippal deployed earlier, they all watched as the hover Slovak was riding crashed into the craters wall and exploded. His body flew towards the front of the truck as it hit the sandy crust, getting engulfed in the flames from the impact. The residuals quickly fell towards the group's vehicle and everyone ducked to avoid getting directly hit from it. Once they came to a halt, Alek climbed out of the driver's compartment with Rikku and she dove onto Gippal, throwing her arms around him. He fell backwards, leaning on the side wall of the hover.

"I'm so glad you're safe!" She cried, refusing to loosen her grip on him. "I don't think I could have handled losing you again!" Rikku Punched him lightly in the chest. "Why did you do that?! You could have been killed!"

Gippal didn't say anything; he just put his arms around her and hugged her into his chest. Alek looked over the side of the hover and gulped.

"This is all well and good but how are we going to get out of this quicksand?" He asked, scratching his head. The Engine doesn't have any more in her to re-rise out of this, and I'd say in about ten minutes we're all gonna be sinking!"

"What are we gonna do?" Rikku asked nervously. "This crater is too big to try to climb out of. At this rate we're done for!" Gippal and Rikku rose to their feet along with Baralai and Nooj, and they all took stances by the edges of the hover's truck bed, looking down at the quicksand.

"We can't even wire for help." Baralai said, taking out his comm. sphere. "There's no signal. There's no way anyone is going to find us at this rate..."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that, Praetor Baralai" Alek noted, pointing to the sky. "Looks like we're in luck!" As the five of them looked up the were relieved to see the Winno heading towards them with Paine and Yuna standing on its deck, waving out to them.

"Uncle Cid! Do you see them?" Yuna called into the cockpit at her uncle who was piloting.

"Yep! I'm comin' down guys!" Cid announced over the intercom, lowering the airship down as close as he could without touching the slipping sands beneath him. Flicking a few switches, Cid opened the bottom latch and the five leapt out of the hover truck and onto the platform that took them into the airship to safety and just in time. The hover sunk quickly into the shifting sands, disappearing forever as the latch doors closed and the Winno rose up to safety.

Making their way to the cockpit, Nooj, Baralai, and Alek were greeted by their wives, and Yuna and Paine led Juin and Adlain to hug their fathers.

"Father!" Juin called out to Nooj, rushing to his arms. "Momma said you were in a high speed chase!" He wrapped his tiny arms around the Meyvn's leg, squeezing as tight as he could for such a small boy.

"High smeed chase! High smeed chase!" Adlain added as Baralai scooped him up and kissed the little boy's cheek.

Rikku supported Gippal as they made their way to the cockpit where Cid continued to pilot. Gippal sat in the co-pilot's seat and Rikku went over and hugged her father. "Thanks Pops! How did you know where we were anyway?"

"Whelp, I got a call from Nhadala sayin' that two hover trucks blazed through the entrance gates an' one of the guys said he looked like Gippy over there." Cid pointed at his son in law, then readjusted the cigar in his mouth. "I used the radar on here to help me track yer location." Looking up at the ball of smoke and fire at the crater's wall, Cid let out a sigh. "I s'pose Slovy was on that truck?"

Gippal lowered his head. "Yeah. Such a waste. I never realized just how full of hatred he was for us. All that scouting talent wasted on a grudge that wasn't even intentional."

"He wasn't the same person in the end." Rikku said sadly, remembering her old friend. "Slovy changed so much...I hardly recognized him anymore. Scary part is, he almost got away with it too, if it wasn't for Alek."

Looking over at Nooj and Baralai with their sons in their arms, Rikku looked at Yuna with a puzzled look. "When did you get the boys?"

"We stopped over in Besaid before we headed to Bikanel." Yuna smiled, heading towards her cousin and Gippal with a bundle in her arms. "It turns out the guards that Slovak had outside of Lulu and Wakka's house were friends of Alek and Gippal so they left after their act was no longer necessary." She handed Lelah over to Gippal, who had yet to meet his daughter.

"Gippal, I'd like for you to meet your little girl." Yuna said happily as he took Lelah from the former Summoner's arms. "She's been waiting patiently for her vydran to come back."

The Faction leader crossed one of his legs over his knee and placed Lelah into the center of it so she was facing him. As he looked her over for the first time, she stared up at him with her big blue and green spiral eyes and smiled, reaching out her tiny hand to his face. He let her wrap her hand around his finger and he put the hand to his mouth, kissing it gently as a tear slid down his good eye.

"It's nice to meet you, finally." He said softly, continuing to kiss her little hand. "I promise I'll never leave you or your momma ever again." Rikku came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek tenderly.

"Let's go home, huh?" She breathed into his ear, nuzzling into his neck.

"That's the best thing I've heard all day." Gippal looked over at his father in law. "What do ya say, Cid? Shall we?"

"Righty O then!" Cid announced. "Everybody hang onto yer hats! We're gettin' the hell outta here!" And he raised the Winno upwards, turning it around. They flew out of the crater at breakneck speed, heading back towards the Mi'ihen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_A/N: I hope I did this all right. I'm not very good with action scenes. Anyway, there is one more chapter hopefully coming up at least by the end of next week. I've got quite a few assignments to take care of first, so I'm gonna do my best to finish them off as soon as possible._


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: When I started free-writing the outline of this fic two weeks ago, I had no idea it was going to lead me this soon to the end of this story. I am still so surprised at how quick everything happened, and after two years of writing this, it is finally over. I am so sad, like I usually am when I finish a fic but I had so much fun writing it as well. Thank you so much to my readers and reviewers; I tried to answer all of you so you know how grateful I am for all of your support. And also to my silent readers! You all rock! Anyway I hope you liked this fic..._

**Chapter 20:**

Shortly after the events of that day, Gippal was exonerated of all wrongdoing in the death of his friend Fajio and allowed to go home to Rikku and his daughter. He took a much needed couple of weeks to readjust himself not only to freedom after being in confinement for over a month, but also to the new needs of his little one before returning to his post at the Faction. After being through his ordeal, Gippal really appreciated the little things, like getting to feed Lelah, playing with her, and taking little naps together on the sofa. In that time Gippal never let Rikku do a thing, insisting that he take care of things since she had been through so much as well. Rikku was not complaining; it made her very happy to see father and daughter bonding. She was afraid that the bonding window had closed between them during his absence, but that all faded once he laid eyes on her.

Fajio was taken from the temporary tomb that Alek had placed him after he passed away and was buried and sent properly, courtesy of Yuna. She also did a sending for Slovak despite all of the chaos he caused when he was alive. Yuna was not the type to deny anyone of the right to move on, no matter how wicked they may have been. They had all come to the conclusion that Slovak was just troubled, and had difficulty accepting change, and to put it simply- he was a sore loser.

Gippal returned to the Faction, making Alek his second in command. With the addition of two new members to replace Slovak and Fajio, there was once again a strong, reliable digging team. It took a while for the new members to adjust to the old ones and vice versa, but eventually the team became successful and profitable once again.

Baralai and Nooj were given their positions back to them in the Triad, although they had never formally lost them in the first place since the jury was not a valid one. Gippal's position was not changed either; It was more or less frozen when he had disappeared. There was a small ceremony which was filmed for all to see in Luca's main court, and everyone was glad to have the young man back in his place.

All that was left was for things to slowly go back to normal, and they had as time went by.

**One Year Later:**

"Da! Da! Da!" Lelah chanted repeatedly from her crib, waiting for Gippal to come in and pick her up so she could have her breakfast. He stuck his head in the door and smiled as the now one year old stood up, leaning on the crib's bars and chewing on the wooden surface to soothe the many teeth she now had coming in on the bottom.

"I hear ya, Lelah Muja!" Gippal said, picking her up and taking her downstairs to the kitchen. "Let's be real quiet like mice! Your momma is still sleeping and she needs all the rest she can get, right?" He nuzzled his face into hers, kissing her cheek as she continued to giggle. Once in the kitchen Gippal fastened Lelah to her feeding chair and handed her a Sippy cup full of orange juice. As she drank the contents of the cup happily, he fixed her a scrambled egg to eat, throwing on a few more for him and Rikku, along with some bacon and sausage. The smell of the bacon and sausage wafted up the stairs and coaxed Rikku out of bed.

"Do I smell bacon?" She said groggily, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. "I hope you made a little extra cuz this one seems really hungry this morning!" Rikku patted her eight months pregnant belly and licked her lips as she headed down the stairs and over to Gippal. Wrapping her arms around him from behind, she rested her head on his back, sighing contentedly. "Thanks for doing all this."

"Anything for my girls!" Gippal replied, turning over the sizzling bacon and removing the finished ones onto a paper towel. Once one was patted dry he picked it up and put it into Rikku's mouth. "How's that?"

"It's amazing!" She replied, chewing the piece of bacon slowly so she could enjoy it. Ever since she'd gotten pregnant again, the taste of everything seemed so much better than it was, which was a change from her pregnancy with Lelah when she felt sick from practically everything. As Gippal put the food on the plates and brought them to the table the comm. Sphere rang. Rikku took the plates from him and set them on the table as he left the room to answer the call. After being gone for a good ten minutes, Rikku began to panic, wondering if he was going to have to go out on a dig again so soon before she was due. When Gippal finally returned, he immediately saw the concern in her eyes and facial features and knelt down beside her as she sat in her chair.

"Don't tell me..." Rikku started, swallowing a piece of sausage she'd put in her mouth before he came in. "You've got another dig?" She tried fighting the disappointment and upset she was feeling, but that was nearly impossible while being pregnant.

"Yeah." Gippal sighed, holding Rikku's hand in his. "Al said they've detected some kind of mass in the middle of Bikanel. They think it's an old structure of some sort!"

"When do you leave?" She wasn't looking at him now; her face felt hot and her hair covered the tears that started to form in her eyes. Lelah sat happily in her chair, picking up pieces of egg and shoving them into her mouth, oblivious to the moment.

"Well, Alek and the guys leave in about an hour or so." Gippal replied, lifting himself off of the floor and seating himself next to Rikku. Without another word about it he began digging into his own food. "Damn...my eggs are all cold."

Rikku watched him curiously, unable to register what he had said at first, but when she understood a hopeful smile crept back into her face. "You mean...?"

"I'm not going, Cid's girl." He stated simply, shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth. "Vicks and Wedge are perfectly prepared for a dig like this with only Alek watching over them. They don't need me...not as much as you and Lelah do right now." Gippal picked up both of their empty plates, bringing them over to the sink and started washing them. Rikku stood from her chair, took Lelah out of her seat and went over to Gippal. He put his arm around the both of them and hugged them into his chest. "From now on, I'm not going anywhere until my son..."

"...or daughter" Rikku interrupted.

"Or daughter..." He continued "is born. And that's a promise I intend to keep."

**THE END**


End file.
